Byakuran's Girl
by xXkashikuXx
Summary: Naomi was sent to the headquarters of the Milliefiore to become Byakuran's assistant. When she met him, the least unexpected happens.I hope you guys like this! may contain a few spoilers of the future and might not follow the exact storyline
1. Chapter 1 Miliefiore's Base

Naomi opened the door to the Miliefiore's base. She was sent on a mission by Irie Shoichi. To be a spy for the Vongola family. Smiling, she gave her identity card made by Irie Shoichi to the guards and was let in. Looking for Byakuran's headquarters, she headed to the elevator to the control room. She intended to learn some things about the Millifiore while she was here. Opening the door to the control room, Naomi realized that it was eerily quiet. Looking around, she spotted a security camera on the ceiling. Sighing, she walked out of the room and found a guard outside waiting for her. Giving the guard her intended place of visit, the guard guided her personally until Byakuran's door and left her standing there alone. Naomi sighed and walked into the room without even knocking.

Byakuran was eating marshmallows (his usual favorite) when the door opened. "Oh?" He looked up and saw Naomi entering. Smiling his special smile, he said, "Oh, Naomi-chan. Is that you?" Naomi smiled back and replied, "Yes, sir. Irie-sama sent me."

Byakuran smiled. "I like your attitude. So Irie-chan was right to recommend you. You're hired," he said, while popping another marshmallow into his mouth. Naomi smiled sweetly back, all the while observing Byakuran closely.

Byakuran looked up. "Yes, Naomi-chan? Do you need anything? You look curious… somehow…" he said, lost in his thoughts.

"Forgive me, sir. I just…" Naomi blushed and looked away.

"Oh?" Byakuran popped another white marshmallow into his mouth and smiled. "Oh, Naomi-chan! No need to be so formal with me. You look frightened. Has Irie-chan treated you badly?" Byakuran looked enquiringly at Naomi.

Partly lost in her own world, Naomi took awhile to respond. "Naomi-chan? Are you there?" Byakuran asked her. Naomi snapped out of her daydream and answered while blushing, "I'm sorry, sir. I just…" Naomi shook her head.

"Oh?" After popping another marshmallow into his mouth, he looked at Naomi and stood up. Naomi, stunned by this sudden change backed away before she knew what she was doing and stopped. Helpers do not back away before their bosses when approached.

Byakuran smiled and tilted his head. "Come here, Naomi-chan," he said. Naomi felt fear but forced herself to move forward. "There's a good girl now. Oh?" Byakuran blanked out for a second then shook his head. He cupped Naomi's face in his palms and inspected it. Naomi's cheeks were now gradually turning beet-root in color. "Oh?" Byakuran let Naomi go. Naomi shook her head to try and make the blush go away.

Byakuran looked confused for awhile then smiled. "You're a shy one indeed," he said, looking into her eyes. Naomi blushed again. Byakuran smiled and turned away. "You may go now, Naomi-chan," he said, looking out of the window. "Uh…Yes, sir! Sorry!" Naomi said and turned around to leave. "Oh, and Naomi-chan, you don't need to be scared here. You can have more freedom here than in any other place in the world. Always remember that." Byakuran turned around and smiled once again at Naomi. He tilted his head. "You may leave now," he said and watched as Naomi turned around and headed for the door. After Naomi was gone, Byakuran asked himself. _What is this feeling? I've never felt anything like this before._

And for the first time in his life, Byakuran began to blush.


	2. Chapter 2 Naomi's Past

Naomi sighed. She had successfully gained Byakuran's trust for now. She wanted to tell Irie Shoichi but she was afraid that the line might not be secure. She couldn't risk getting found out. Not yet. Not now when she had finally accomplished something. She had risked everything for this.

Before this, she was a worthless nobody. But she had wanted to have a purpose in life. When Irie Shoichi found her and gave her this mission, she had gladly accepted it and made it her purpose in life. Her life had one meaning and one meaning only and that was this mission. She had trained for months for this so that if anything went wrong she could defend herself.

She remembered the days before Irie Shoichi had found her….

"_Mother! Mother! Look at this child! She's so dirty and all covered in rags! Eww, mother! I'm scared of her!"_

_Those were of the cries of children who saw her. Nobody ever cared for her. Parents who saw her would pull their children away from her. She had no parents. Abandoned since birth, she was taken care by an old uncle who later died of an incurable disease. She had missed her caretaker very much and often cried at the thought of his death. _

_One day, she was begging on the street when a young boy, who looked around 20 years old, stood before her. He took her hand and welcomed her home. He had nursed her back to full health and brought her to visit the Vongola family. They were all very nice to her. She had sworn to protect them with her life. _

_Many months later, Naomi took a test and a ring was presented to her. Her ring had the mist attribute and she had the power to create illusions. Right after she was given this ring, Irie Shoichi had shown up at her door with a mission for her. She accepted this mission gladly as she saw it as a chance to help repay back the kindness shown to her by Irie Shoichi and the Vongola family. _

_She was given a warning however, that the test would prove to be dangerous and that she could lose her life in carrying out this test. Naomi did not listen to the warning and gladly went all out to get fully prepared for the mission. The tenth Vongola boss had made sure that all the things that could be done to get Naomi fully prepared was done. He even called the Vongola mist guardian, Rokudo Mukuro to train Naomi properly. In three months time she was ready to carry out the mission. The tenth Vongola boss would only let her go when he felt that her safety was secured to the maximum._

Naomi smiled when she remembered how kind the boss and everybody else was to her.

Naomi realized that while she was thinking about the past, she had gotten herself lost in the Milliefiore's base. Sighing, she tried to find her way out but could not. Everything looked so familiar. Then she heard singing. She crept closer and realized that the singer was Byakuran. This was what he was singing:

**Let's dance to music and sing a song all together  
boku no te no hira de  
Let's dance to music and say good-bye to this world  
odori tsuzukete  
Let's dance to music and sing a song all together  
kuru oshii yokubou  
Let's dance to music and say good-bye to this world  
subete wo kono te ni**

Let's dance to music and sing a song all together  
boku no te no hira de  
Let's dance to music and say good-bye to this world  
utsuku shiku chitte  
Let's dance to music and sing a song all together  
atarashii sekai wo  
Let's dance to music and say good-bye to this world  
subete wo kono te ni"

Naomi sighed. Byakuran's voice sounded so carefree. It was a long time since she had heard someone talk or even sang like that. It sounded like…dare she think it? It sounded just like her caretaker a long time ago. He used to sing like that. He had taught Naomi to always be happy and smile. Naomi smiled now.

Tears were running down her cheeks. She missed her old caretaker more than anything else. She was crying so hard that she didn't realize that someone was standing before her. It was Byakuran.


	3. Chapter 3 The Hallway

"Hey, Naomi-chan. Are you alright? What's wrong? Did something happen?"

Byakuran asked Naomi. Byakuran was obviously concerned.

Naomi looked up and Byakuran could see the look of terror and fear on her face. Especially her eyes. They gave the most away.

Naomi gave out a little scream. She tried standing up but her legs were extremely wobbly. Tears still streamed down her face.

After thirty seconds of standing, Naomi's legs gave way under her. She collapsed to the ground.

Just as she was about to touch the ground, she felt someone catch her hand. Looking up, she realized that it was Byakuran.

"I'm sorry. I…" Naomi tried to speak but every word was followed by a sob. She shook her head.

"Naomi-chan. What's wrong? Tell me," Byakuran asked.

Naomi shook her head vigorously, acting like a stubborn child. Her fear and terror had taken over her and she couldn't control herself anymore.

"Naomi-chan. Why don't you tell me?" the only feeling in byakuran's eyes were concern. "Don't try to fool me. Even a five-year-old could tell that something is wrong. Who do you take me for?" he demanded.

"I'm sorry. It's just… It's just…" Sobs. Everything was followed by sobs. Her words hardly made any sense anymore.

Byakuran shook his head and sighed. "It must be the guards that have upset you. I'll go and have a word with them," Byakuran got up and started towards the door.

Something caught his hand. It was Naomi. "Don't… I'll talk. It's not their fault. It's my past. When I heard you singing…" she muttered.

Byakuran turned away. Naomi looked concerned and asked him, "Did I say something wrong? If so, I'm sorry." Naomi buried her face in her hands.

_Why, oh why did this have to happen? _Naomi cried out silently. _I have failed my mission. I have lost my purpose in life._

_How can I go on being his helper like this? No one will want me anymore. I can't possibly go back to Irie Shoichi and tell him that I failed! He himself said that this mission was extremely important._

Tears flowed freely down Naomi's face. Salty drops of water landed on Naomi's tongue. It made her cry even more.

_What is this? _Naomi wondered. She fell as if someone was putting a hand around her. She must be dreaming. _Uncle…_ The tears were in abundance now.

"Now, now, Naomi-chan. Don't cry anymore."

Someone wiped Naomi's tears away with his hand.

Naomi, surprised, looked up. Byakuran's face was inches away from hers. He was smiling that sweet, to-good-to-be-true smile again. But there was something different.

His eyes… they were filled with sorrow and pity.

Naomi looked into his eyes and was beyond what any other human mortal could. She saw Byakuran's feelings, the good and the bad.

She saw how caring he was being towards her. She saw the worry in his eyes was meant for her.

She burst into tears and buried her face in Byakuran's shirt.

"Now, now, Naomi-chan," Byakuran comforted her. Gently, very gently, he hugged her. A little squeeze.

Naomi felt it and looked up. She was held captive by the eyes that held so much meaning.

Byakuran also looked into her eyes. For a brief moment, they exchanged their feelings. Yet, a brief moment was enough.

No words were needed to be said.

In that moment, in that time, everything stood still as Naomi and Byakuran kissed.


	4. Chapter 4 I Promise

The days passed by slowly.

Naomi saw Byakuran everyday but was confused as to why Byakuran would ever like her.

Byakuran on the other hand, had never liked anyone else before and was confused as to what he should do.

The two of them hardly spoke to each other anymore because whenever they met they were both deep in thought of their feelings towards each other.

A month later, Byakuran had to go on a journey to Japan for some reason.

He called Naomi along and she hesitantly agreed.

The flight to Japan was a long one in which Byakuran and Naomi were sitting next to each other.

Both of them remained quiet.

Finally, to break the tension, Byakuran asked in his carefree tone.

"What happened the other day, Naomi-chan?"

He smiled and tilted his head.

Naomi blinked and opened her mouth to answer but no words came out.

"Oh? That wasn't an obligation, Naomi-chan. It was an order," Byakuran said, still smiling. Naomi looked away.

Byakuran took her face in his hands and looked directly into her eyes.

"I've never seen you in the other worlds before. How did Irie-chan find you?"

Byakuran said and frowned.

Naomi blushed. So Byakuran truly didn't know anything about her past.

Slowly, Naomi told Byakuran about her whole past, leaving some parts out and editing the others.

When she had finished, the plane had begun to land.

Her eyes were teary from remembering so much about her past. She could not see anything anymore.

"I'm sorry…" Naomi said and turned away.

Byakuran shook his head and put his hand around her.

"It's okay. If anyone else ever upsets you again, tell me and I will make sure that they never see the living daylight again," he said gravely.

Naomi gulped. So Byakuran truly met his reputation of being cruel to others. Now she knew why the tenth Vongola boss had been worried about her and had made sure that she was trained properly.

"Naomi-chan," Byakuran said softly, barely louder than a whisper.

Naomi looked up, straight into Byakuran's eyes.

"I'll always be there for you, Naomi-chan. No matter what. I promise."


	5. Chapter 5 Tokyo, Japan

The plane landed in Tokyo, Japan.

Naomi and Byakuran walked out of the plane. They were holding hands. Byakuran was smiling his special smile and Naomi was blushing.

Byakuran booked a limousine and a driver. He treated Naomi to some octopus balls, Japan's favorite, while waiting, all the while holding Naomi's hand.

The limousine arrived five minutes later.

Byakuran took Naomi all over Tokyo, Japan, and showed her all the latest technology there, all the while staying in the limousine.

"Have you ever been to Japan before, Naomi-chan?" Byakuran asked while smiling. Naomi blushed and shook her head. Byakuran laughed.

Byakuran took out a packet of marshmallows and popped one into his mouth.

"Want one?" Byakuran held out the packet to Naomi.

Naomi smiled and shook her head.

_Oh? _Byakuran shrugged and went back to eating marshmallows.

Naomi, suddenly feeling tired because of the long journey, leaned on Byakuran's shoulder and fell asleep.

_Oh? _Byakuran looked at her and smiled. Patting her head, he popped another marshmallow into his mouth.

For the whole day, this is what Byakuran and Naomi did:

When Naomi woke up, she found herself in the north of Japan. The air was cold and refreshing. It took her a minute to remember where she was and how she got here.

The familiar voice brought all the memories rushing back.

_Oh? _"Naomi-chan. You're finally awake." Byakuran stated and smiled. He stroked Naomi's hair gently. Naomi laughed.

Byakuran frowned for a second. Naomi's voice sounded like silver bells to Byakuran. Then, he smiled. He liked her voice. He still wondered at this strange yet wonderful feeling.

The limousine stopped. They had finally reached their destination.

Byakuran smiled and opened the door. Offering his hand to Naomi, he realized that her hands were rough. Like she had fought many battles before.

Looking closely at her hands, he saw that they were covered in cuts and bruises.

Naomi was getting out of the car when she realized that Byakuran was looking strangely at her. "Yes, sir?" she asked enquiringly.

Looking away, Byakuran shook his head. _What happened to this girl? _He wondered.

Naomi was worried now. She feared that Byakuran would realize her true intention.

But…what was her true intention?

Although she didn't want to admit it, she knew that deep down, inside her heart, she truly had feelings for him, that she truly cared.

For every moment that they spent together, Naomi truly felt happy. That was a feeling that she hadn't felt in a very, very, long time.

Other feelings such as hatred, regret, sadness and loneliness were not at all strangers to her.

_From this moment onwards, _Naomi thought, _although I do not want to admit it. I do now._

Naomi's eyes were filled with tears.

For truly, she had realized that she had fallen in love.


	6. Chapter 6 Naomi x Byakuran

Byakuran took Naomi shopping and treated her to anything and everything that she wanted.

He was constantly asking her things like: "Do you like this, Naomi-chan?" or "Anything else, Naomi-chan?"

Naomi had never ever felt anything like that in her life before. Her time spent with Byakuran in the supermarket was truly heaven.

Byakuran treated her like he had never treated anyone else before. He had never been this kind before.

He smiled as he realized how nice it actually was to be with Naomi.

The two of them shopped until lunch and after that Byakuran took her on a tour around the city.

Naomi realized that the north of Japan was a lot different compared to Tokyo, Japan.

For a start, it was much colder and more peaceful here, at the north.

_Come to think of it, _Naomi thought, _I have only seen a few people here. _The number of people in Tokyo seemed like infinity compared to the number of people in the city.

At around four in the evening (Japan time), Byakuran took Naomi to eat cakes at a bakery that he had heard about. The bakery was famed for its delicious cakes.

Of course, Byakuran didn't touch a single thing.

Instead, he took out another packet of marshmallows and began munching on them.

"Byakuran-chan…erm…do you mind if I call you that?" Naomi asked.

Byakuran frowned which made Naomi worry that she had asked for too much.

But after a moment, he smiled and shook his head.

"Nope! Not at all, Naomi-chan," he said, cheerfully.

Naomi smiled. "Thank you. Thank you, for this…and for everything else," she said softly, overwhelmed by her emotions. Her words were barely louder than a whisper but Byakuran had heard her.

"It's okay, Naomi-chan. It was nothing," Byakuran said and put his hand around her. Naomi blushed and smiled.

"Hey, Byakuran-chan. Can I ask you something?"

"Yeah. What is it, Naomi-chan?"

"Why do you always eat marshmallows?"

Byakuran laughed and shook his head.

"Let's just say that it's my favorite food."

Naomi nodded but opened her mouth to protest. She was cut short by Byakuran.

He was frowning…fiercely. His eyes were darkening.

"Hmm…do not ask that again. You're pushing your luck too far. I may like you but I'm not a pushover. If you ever demand or in any way try and force anything out of me…I will crush your throat!" Byakuran said.

His fingers were at Naomi's neck. He smiled…cruelly.

Naomi's eyes opened wide. She looked scared for a moment then smiled.

She pushed Byakuran's fingers away from her throat with no apparent effort and scoffed.

"I dare you to try that again, Byakuran-chan. Let's see what happens when you do. I'm not just some weak girl that you can force things on," Naomi said while snickering. She stretched her neck and rubbed the place where Byakuran's fingers touched and winced.

Byakuran frowned. "You're a tough one, indeed. You talk so confidently. I like you. But what is this power? You pushed my hand away without any noticeable effort. One day, we must fight. One day… but not today. Today, we have some fun," Byakuran smiled and turned to walk away, catching Naomi's hand in the process and dragging her along with him.

He appeared to return to normal…at least for the time being.


	7. Chapter 7 Naomi's Power

Byakuran took Naomi to the foot of Mount Fuji. Naomi gazed up the mountain.

Mount Fuji was so high that half of the mountain was hidden by clouds.

Byakuran chuckled and carried Naomi in his hands. Startled, Naomi immediately jumped off.

Confused, Byakuran asked Naomi, "Hey, what's wrong, Naomi-chan? You look…scared." Then he smiled and dropped his hands.

"Where…where are we going?" Naomi stuttered.

Chuckling, Byakuran said, "For someone who dares to defy me, you're kind of a coward. So easily scared by a lot of things. Don't worry. I won't hurt you. You'll be fine with me. Remember my promise? Don't tell me you forgot my promise already, my dear Naomi-chan."

Naomi sighed. "You promised to always be there for me and yet you tried to kill me. And you expect me to believe you? Why did you try to kill me just now?" she demanded.

Byakuran frowned. "You talk too much. Don't ask so many questions, little puppy. When a puppy makes too much noise, Naomi-chan…they need to be silenced…for good," he replied and turned to walk towards the start of the mountain.

Inspecting the slope, he noted that it was a steep cliff which would be impossible to climb.

Turning back to Naomi, he saw her trembling there but trying very hard not to. It was very obvious.

Shaking his head at how different Naomi was, at how she could have enough bravery to defy him yet was scared of such little things. He walked back to Naomi and put his hand around Naomi to offer her comfort.

"Naomi-chan. Stop trembling. Now that's a good girl. Relax. You're so tensed up. I won't do that again…at least not for the time being," he said and carried her in his arms again.

This time, Naomi did not resist.

Byakuran used his sky flames to propel him upwards towards the peak of the mountain.

Naomi shivered. It was cold here and she wasn't wearing any warm clothing, just a shirt and a pair of pants. The higher Byakuran went, the colder it got.

Water vapor clung to her and soon Naomi was drenched with water. On top of that, Naomi grew increasingly nervous and had cold sweat.

As they got higher, Byakuran held her even closer.

Finally, after two minutes or so, they reached the peak of the mountain. It was so covered in clouds that Naomi couldn't see ten meters ahead of her.

Byakuran landed on the peak of the mountain and let Naomi down but kept close to her side. He never let go of her hand as he did not want her to go toppling down the steep cliffs and lose her life.

Naomi held on to Byakuran's hand tightly without complaining. She didn't want to go falling down the cliffs and dieing…at least not yet.

They ventured even deeper into the clouds, the mist. Now Naomi could only see one meter ahead of her. All the while Byakuran never ever let go of Naomi's hands. For someone who tried to kill her, he was taking extremely good care of her.

The mist kept getting thicker. Now Byakuran and Naomi couldn't even see each other even when they were inches apart. They wandered around for ten minutes yet found nothing.

The effects of the cold were taking its toll on Naomi. She soon had trouble walking. Her feet felt like they were frozen to the ground. It took a lot of effort to even move one step.

Her feet were turning blue.

_It had to be at least -15 degrees Celsius here! _Naomi thought.

Finally, unable to walk anymore, Naomi called out for help.

Byakuran sighed and carried Naomi in his hands. Naomi was whining softly. She could hardly take it anymore. Even staying conscious was hard now.

_Is this where I will breathe my last breath? If so thank you everyone. If I die here, I die happy. Irie Shoichi…Vongola Decimo…Byakuran…_

_Byakuran…_

"_Use your power when you are in trouble, okay?" those were the Vongola Decimo's last words to her when she left. _

Naomi woke up from her thoughts. Her power! Yes! _I'm sorry everyone…Irie Shoichi…Vongola Decimo…I have to use this…_ Naomi thought.

A bright indigo light came from Naomi's ring. It was so bright and blinding.

Byakuran opened his eyes wide.

_I'm sorry, everyone._ Those were Naomi's last words before losing consciousness. Her power had made her lose all her strength left. Her lips curved into a smile in Byakuran's arms.

In an instant the mist disappeared and a door could be seen in the distance..


	8. Chapter 8 Byakuran's Hideout

Byakuran hugged Naomi close as she lost her consciousness. He was still shocked to see Naomi break through the barrier. He was also surprised to see the strong waves of energy coming from her ring.

He knew that she was very weak when she broke through the barrier yet she was capable of creating such a strong flame. _Was this the power that she was so sure about? If so, it is truly impressive._

_Who is this girl? How could she have broken through my mist barrier even though she is so weak? _Byakuran stood out in the snow in shock.

_To think that someone is actually capable of breaking through my barrier. I thought that it was invincible. Even the best officers in the Miliefiore couldn't even detect that there was a barrier here let alone destroy it! And to think that this girl here…who seemed so innocent could actually destroy the barrier with only using a little of her strength…_

All this thinking made Byakuran have a headache. He wasn't used to thinking so much.

His style of living was very carefree. Sighing, he headed towards the entrance of his hideout.

_And to think that this girl could actually destroy this barrier while I was having trouble finding the entrance even though I was the one who created it…_

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Byakuran entered the hideout.

Naomi woke up on a soft bed. She tried to get up but her body ached all over. She looked around and realized that she was all alone and that she had no clue of where she was. She couldn't even remember what happened before she blacked out.

Lying back in bed, Naomi tried to remember. After what seemed like forever, she finally gave up. She hardly had any strength despite resting for so long.

_The only time that I have ever felt this tired was when I trained to control my power…_

_My power! Now I remember! _

Slowly, everything began to fit the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle. She remembered how she used her power to find the hideout. But one thing was also missing…

_Ah, yes! I remember! Byakuran…what happened to him?_

Try as she might, the last thing that she could remember was that Byakuran was carrying her because she could not walk anymore. Sighing, she waited patiently for Byakuran. Within minutes, she fell asleep again.

Byakuran was sitting in the control room. He was trying to contact Irie Shoichi.

_Irie-chan…who is this girl whom u sent to me?_

Byakuran was growing more frustrated by each passing second. From the corner of his eye, he spotted the security camera in Naomi's room. She had awoken. Sighing, Byakuran watched her as she tried to get out of bed but couldn't.

_Looks like using her power took a toll on her body…_ Byakuran thought.

Sitting in the control room, Byakuran did more thinking than he had ever did in his whole life.


	9. Chapter 9 The Tenth Vongola Boss

Irie Shoichi was eating his dinner at the Vongola hideout. Vongola Decimo and the rest of the guardians were also there. They were the ten years younger bunch. Kyoko and Haru were preparing a feast for them to boost up their training.

"Here you are! Enjoy the food!" Kyoko and Haru said.

"Wow! It looks so good!" Tsuna exclaimed.

"Lambo-san will eat everything!" Lambo cried.

"Stupid cow! Let the tenth eat first!" Gokudera shouted.

"Now, now," Yamamoto tried to calm them down.

"Gokudera...it's okay…let Lambo go…" Tsuna said.

Gokudera was bouncing Lambo like a basketball.

"Got…to…stay…calm!" Lambo ran off crying.

"Now look what you did Gokudera!" Haru cried.

"Stupid woman…" Gokudera said.

"What did you call me?" Haru said, annoyed.

_Humph._ "Stupid cow, upsetting the tenth's dinner like that," he muttered while sitting down.

"Now, now. Don't bully the little kid," Yamamoto said.

"The tenth should eat first…" Gokudera muttered.

"Eat to the extreme!" cried out Ryohei.

"Stupid turf top," Gokudera muttered.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY? I'M ANGRY TO THE EXTREME!" Ryohei shouted.

"You want to fight?" Gokudera challenged.

"Now, now, stop it guys," Yamamoto tried to calm them down. He was smiling like he always was.

Gokudera and Ryohei frowned at each other.

"Calm down, guys," Tsuna said.

"Well… if the boss says so…" Gokudera said and turned away from Ryohei.

"Come and eat now," Reborn said.

"Lambo-san will eat it all!"

Gokudera frowned and turned around.

Lambo was standing by the door. "Lambo-san is hungry!" Lambo cried.

He jumped on the table and started sticking his face in the food.

"Lambo-san! That's not nice!" I-pin cried.

_Eh?_ Lambo looked surprised.

"Now, now, there's enough for everyone. We'll make more for you if there's not enough. You don't have to eat everything," Kyoko said while smiling.

Lambo looked innocently at Kyoko with his wide green eyes.

"Thank you for the food!" everyone cried out and began to eat.

Irie Shoichi smiled.

_The atmosphere here is so great. I like it here very much. I wish that it could always be like this…_

"Hey, Irie…" Tsuna asked quietly. He was sitting next to Irie Shoichi. "Yeah?" Irie answered. "About Byakuran…have you heard from him yet?" he questioned.

Irie frowned. He was no longer happy. He was worried about Naomi on that dangerous mission but although he did not like it he knew that no one had a higher chance of completing the mission compared to her. He had started regretting sending her on the mission a few weeks ago. He still hadn't heard anything of her since.

However, Irie knew that he had expected that much. It was definitely difficult to have a private conversation without being detected in the Miliefiore. And he hadn't tried contacting her in fear that she would be overheard by someone in the Miliefiore. But he still wished that he had some way of knowing that Naomi was fine.

"So…?" Tsuna prompted.

The room was drowned out by the screaming and crying of Lambo, the angry shouts of Gokudera, the calm voice of Yamamoto and the extremely Ryohei.

Tsuna and Irie would not be heard. He talked silently as he did not want Kyoko and Haru to hear and worry about Naomi. Although they had only met Naomi once, they were well known for their ability to worry over people who they hardly knew when it came to safety. They were kind hearted and didn't want to put anybody in danger.

_Especially Kyoko-chan…_ Tsuna thought while smiling.

His thoughts were interrupted by Irie's voice. It was soft but loud enough for Tsuna to hear.

"No…I fear for her…" Irie Shoichi said.

"Irie-san…" Tsuna said softly, signs of worry showing in his eyes.

But then he smiled.

"I'm sure she'll be fine. I trust in her…" Tsuna said.

Irie Shoichi nodded and smiled.

_Putting his trust in his friends…this is truly the tenth Vongola boss that I know._


	10. Chapter 10 Who is Naomi?

"Irie-sama," the two pink-haired girls were rushing up to Irie Shoichi.

"Yes?" Irie asked.

"Byakuran-san has been trying to contact you ever since you left. The incoming call has been beeping for hours now," one of them replied.

Irie Shoichi frowned. He knew very well that Byakuran would be very annoyed at him for not answering his call.

"Did you answer the call?" he asked.

"No. it is not in our power to do so," the two girls replied together.

"Yes, I understand," Irie said and headed to the communications room. When the two sisters began to follow him, he said, "I wish to talk to Byakuran…alone."

The two girls nodded and left him.

Irie walked into the communications room. There was no one around. Good. Irie wanted this particular conversation with Byakuran to be private.

Taking a deep breath he pressed the answer button.

Byakuran appeared on the screen but appeared to not notice that the line had been established. He looked really ANNOYED and IRRITATED. Irie gulped.

_What does he want from me? _Irie thought.

Realizing that the line to the Miliefiore base had been established, Byakuran glanced up at the screen to see Irie standing there. He looked…normal.

"Hi there, Irie-chan! What took you so long?" Byakuran asked Irie. He was smiling.

But his smile looked too sweet to be true. And Shoichi knew that.

Byakuran was hiding his soon to burst anger. Irie gulped again. Byakuran could be really scary when he was angry.

"Irie-san, at your service," Irie said.

"My, my. You sound just like yourself, Irie-chan. But why are you trembling?" Byakuran asked, frowning.

"I'm sorry …Byakuran…I didn't mean to not answer your call…" Irie said, trembling.

He bowed his head. Byakuran smiled.

"Oh, you were worried about that. Don't be. I understand that you are very busy nowadays," Byakuran said and took out a packet of marshmallows. He took a handful and took a big bite out of it.

Irie trembled again. A shiver ran through his spine. _Why was Byakuran so annoyed? _Irie knew that Byakuran usually took only one marshmallow at a time and played with it before eating it. _Unless…unless…he is really annoyed. And nothing good ever happens when Byakuran is annoyed. Naomi…Naomi…where are you?_ Irie thought.

_Oh? _"Irie-chan, I see that you're still frightened. Why? You usually aren't like this…are you working too hard?" Byakuran asked.

Although his words sounded caring, the truth was that Byakuran couldn't careless. He just said it for fun. The only time when he actually felt caring was when he was with Naomi. The things that he said then…they were things that he truly meant.

"I'm fine, Byakuran-sama. Why have you called me here?" Irie said, recovering from his shock.

_Oh? _"Irie-chan, you haven't changed at all since the last time I saw you. Always getting straight to the point…Well, if you wish for it I will tell you what I want. Though I wished for a little chat first," Byakuran said while smiling.

Irie Shoichi frowned. _What is going on? What is this strange feeling? Like something bad is going to happen?_ Irie felt himself trembling again.

Byakuran got serious. "Tell me…who is Naomi?" he asked.

Irie began to feel queasy. _So this is what he called me here for… no wonder I felt that strange feeling just now…Oh…I hope Naomi-chan is okay…Naomi…where are you?_

Irie thought. He felt another shiver up his spine.

Byakuran frowned. "Something seems to be the matter. Irie-chan. What is it?"

Irie shook his head. "It's nothing, Byakuran-sama."

Byakuran shrugged. "As you wish," he said, "but you still haven't answered my question."

"Who is Naomi?".


	11. Chapter 11 Remembrance

_Naomi? _Irie Shoichi thought. "What do you want to know about her, Byakuran-sama?" he asked.

"My, my. You seem hesitant today, Irie-chan," Byakuran teased.

Irie shook his head stubbornly.

Byakuran shrugged. "Oh well. Whatever your reason is it's none of my business. Anyway, what I want to know is how you met Naomi-chan, her rank in the Miliefiore and why she has so much power in her," he said.

Irie gulped and nodded.

_So Byakuran has seen Naomi use her power before, huh? I wonder what was so important that made her use it…Could it be that Byakuran had realized her secret and attacked her? Oh my, Naomi…WHERE IN THE WORLD ARE YOU?_

"Irie-chan?" Byakuran cocked his head to the side.

"Yes, Byakuran-sama!" Irie nearly jumped out of his skin from fear.

"Are you okay? You seem different…somehow," Byakuran said.

Irie nodded and said, "I'm sorry, Byakuran…I was lost in my thoughts…"

Byakuran nodded and said, "I know what you mean…this world is so boring…"

Byakuran sighed and smiled at Irie.

Irie gulped. He had known of Byakuran's intention from the very start and was willing to do anything to stop him. _I must be careful of what I say round him and how I react. The slightest mistake could make the whole world come crashing down. _

Irie's stomach reacted to his feelings. _Ouch…ouch… _Irie sank to the floor in pain. His stomach was very pain.

"Irie-chan? What's wrong? Are you scared of me?" Byakuran asked genuine worry in his eyes for a second. Then it disappeared. Byakuran shook his head, remembering that he needed to find out about Naomi-chan.

Irie stood up after a minute. The pain had reduced to just a slight pain in the stomach. "I'm fine, Byakuran. Anyway, let me start the story. It's quite a long one though…" Irie said.

Byakuran nodded. "Sure…please proceed," he said and took out another packet of marshmallows. He took one and played with it. Then he popped it into his mouth.

Irie let out a sigh of relief. Byakuran had calmed down… _At least for now…I hope… _Irie thought. "Anyway, this is how it goes…" Irie started.

"I met her a long time ago in a very small town at the north of Italy. I was on a mission to examine the Miliefiore hideout that was about to be built at that time while I was there, I stayed in a small inn with a very nice innkeeper."

"There were not many people staying there and to eat I went to a very old uncle's ramen shop. His ramen tasted good. His shop was known for having the best ramen in that small town. That uncle had a daughter. Her name was Naomi. She helped out in his shop a lot and was always smiling," Irie said.

Byakuran smiled as he thought of Naomi smiling. _She has such a beautiful smile…I wish that she would smile always…_ he thought.

Irie was too busy remembering the day when he and Naomi first met to notice Byakuran's change in feelings. Byakuran had a faraway look in his eyes that made him look almost at peace.

"The daughter talked a lot although she was sometimes shy. She also used to blush a lot. No matter where she went, she always stuck by the uncle's side. Whenever he needed help, she would be more than willing to help. I never saw her complaining and she always smiled whenever he needed help. Everyone saw her as a kind girl…" Irie continued.

Byakuran smiled. So Naomi had once been very famous in her own little village. Even though this story happened a long time ago, Byakuran could still notice some of the traits that Irie mentioned in the Naomi today.

"Then one day the old uncle died. I could tell because there was a funeral procession outside the ramen shop. Many people attended. In fact, almost the whole village was there. Everyone liked the kind old man and his daughter. I went to the front of the line and saw the daughter crying."

"Tears were flowing freely down her cheeks. It was truly a pitiful sight. I was about to turn around and leave when I saw something special. A really powerful presence was present. I turned around and noticed that the flame was coming from the daughter. It was pure blue mist flame. It didn't have a solid form but it was really something," Irie said.

Byakuran opened his eyes wide. _No wonder she could so easily dispatch that mist barrier that I set up. She was a mist flame wielder herself. _Byakuran thought.

"After the funeral, I took her aside and asked her if she would like to join us. She hesitated but I managed to convince her. I took her back to the inn and comforted her. She grew warm to me in no time. After the Miliefiore base had finished being constructed, I took her back to Japan and had some mist wielders train her."

"She was always patient and never complained although the training was tough. She grew reasonably stronger after the training. In fact she was even stronger than most of the experienced mist wielders themselves. I believe that we may have been able to awaken her full power," Irie said.

_Not…_Irie thought. _I sense that Naomi has much stronger power than this. But I suppose that it will take time to awaken, just like Byakuran's power did. Even now, Byakuran isn't at his strongest… _

Byakuran nodded. He was so entranced by the thought of Naomi being so powerful that he didn't notice that Irie did not completely tell the whole truth about Naomi's power.

_I guess she wasn't lying when she said that I hadn't seen her power yet. Now I know why she wasn't afraid. This power… to think that such power could actually exist in such a young girl._

"As for her rank in the Miliefiore, she hasn't been given any yet as she is new. We have been debating over what rank she should be given, based on her power. She has not fully matured yet though so we couldn't give her too high a rank even if we wanted to," Irie said.

"I see…" Byakuran said, "Well, bye, Irie-chan! I feel that we may meet soon…in person."

Irie frowned. _What was Byakuran up to? Could he have gotten closer to achieving his goal already? Could Naomi be the key to achieving his goal? Maybe I have told him too much, even though I left the most important part out. The truth is, I believe that Naomi could only be using a small portion of her power when she showed her power to Byakuran. Naomi, please be okay…_


	12. Chapter 12 Change

Naomi awoke again. This time she felt like she was in a dream. She tried to get up and realized that her whole body ached all over. She could move but realized that every little thing that she did made her wince.

Sighing, she made for the door and opened it. The hallway was unfamiliar. Naomi had only vague memories of what had happened before she passed out. She only knew that when she passed out, she was having frostbite and was at the peak of Mount Fuji.

Turning the corner, she heard someone speaking. It was Byakuran. She stopped in her tracks and froze. She listened to what Byakuran said. He was talking about someone. His voice was quite clear. There was no mistaking it. He was talking about her!

Her heart skipped a beat. _Have I revealed too much? _She thought. Listening again, she realized that the person that Byakuran was talking to was… _Wait! I know that voice! _Naomi thought. It was Irie Shoichi.

Naomi sank to the ground. Her legs felt like jelly and collapsed under her. _Irie-sama…_ She hadn't heard from him in such a long time. It had been many months since she was sent on this mission. Hearing Irie's voice made her think about Vongola Decimo.

_I was enjoying myself so much with Byakuran that I almost forgot about my mission! No, that isn't right… I didn't want to think about it… I'm sorry, Irie-sama, Vongola Decimo…I haven't even found a safe way to contact you guys yet…I have to find a way to contact you guys and give all this information to you… So much has been happening…_Naomi thought.

The door opened and Byakuran stepped out. He was so deep in thought that he didn't see Naomi huddled up against the wall and almost tripped over her. _Oh?_ He looked up and saw Naomi sitting there wide eyed.

"Hey there, Naomi-chan. How are you?" he said and smiled. Naomi's heart skipped a beat. Byakuran frowned. "Your power is sweet, Naomi-chan. No wonder you felt so confident against me. I see…" Byakuran reached for Naomi. Naomi backed away like a frightened cat. _Oh? _Byakuran withdrew his hand.

"Are you alright? You're acting all weird all of a sudden…just like Irie-chan just did. Is something going on in the Miliefiorethat I don't know about?" Byakuran asked and frowned. He stared into Naomi's eyes. Naomi stared back, defiant this time.

Byakuran laughed and patted her on the back. "That's the Naomi-chan I know. Don't worry, it doesn't matter if you can't or you won't tell me what's going on. Just don't be afraid. Relax. I won't force it out of you…" he said, holding his hand out to Naomi. She took it and smiled.

Byakuran pulled her up effortlessly. "So you exceed even the strongest in the Miliefiore, huh? I really, really, need to challenge you to a fight soon. But I'll wait. For now, I'll have to show you around this base for awhile. I have no servants here so you'll have to do everything by yourself. Come…" he said and pulled her along gently.

Byakuran took Naomi all around the place. But something in Naomi had changed. Her purpose. She knew that whatever happened, even if it broke her heart to do it, she must carry out her mission to help Vongola Decimo overthrow Byakuran.

Every little thing that she noticed in the base, she made a mental note of it. Very soon, she had the whole map of the place stored in her head. All the while that she was with Byakuran, she continued smiling. Even when her jaw ached, she still continued smiling for the sake of gathering information. If she acted normal then Byakuran wouldn't notice a thing. Then it would be easier for her to gather information.

But her smile was no longer the same smile that she always wore freely. It was strained. Her eyes were dark and withdrawn. She no longer smiled from her heart. From that moment on, the past Naomi had disappeared entirely.


	13. Chapter 13 Truth and Lies

This behavior continued for a week which grew into a month. Byakuran noticed nothing strange about Naomi and continued showing and sharing everything that he knew with her.

Inside information and everything else was being collected and stored by Naomi. Finally, she knew that she had enough information for the Vongola to overthrow the Miliefiore. Now all that remained was to find a safe way to communicate with Irie Shoichi.

After days and days of searching and sneaking information out of Byakuran, she found a secret communicator in one of the underground rooms on the seventh floor. She had done many things to obtain this information.

"Have you any other means of communicating other than using the communication room? Just curious…" Naomi had asked Byakuran one day while eating. Her best smile was plastered on her face.

"Well…no, Naomi-chan. Wait…maybe there is. I heard that there were a few minor communicators somewhere in this base," he said and looked up, "Well, why do you ask?"

Naomi smiled sweetly and said, "Nothing. Just curious." Byakuran nodded slowly and smiled. "Well…remember this, Naomi-chan. Curiosity killed the cat," he said darkly. Naomi just sighed.

Another time, a few weeks later, Naomi had tried gathering information from Byakuran again. It went even better than the first. Naomi had tried to seem as natural as possible but the task proved to be very difficult. Still, she tried her best. Her old self had disappeared a long time ago.

"Byakuran-sama," Naomi had tried asking. Byakuran looked up from the packet of marshmallows that he was eating and said, "Yes, Naomi-chan?" Naomi smiled. "Why don't you use the communicators other than the one in the communications room?" she asked.

"Ahh…Naomi-chan. There you go again with that question. Can't you get straight to the point?" he teased. Naomi blushed. "I guess not. It's okay. I like you better this way. We should never be in such a hurry," he said. Naomi smiled again. Her face glowed brightly from the compliment. She blushed and looked away.

_For a second there, okay…maybe not even a second, for a split second there…I felt like myself again…I wish that I could feel like that all the while. I miss the old me…Simple, free and easy…I wish that things could go back to the way it was before…_

Naomi shook her head. _No…that isn't possible now. I can't think like that. I wasn't sent here to have fun. I have a mission to complete…And I need to complete this mission no matter what…_ Byakuran's voice brought her crashing back down to earth.

"Well, the reason why I never used them was because I don't know where they are…I never bothered to look. The Miliefiore that built this base died a few weeks after. No one knows anything about this base except him, other than me and you of course…" Byakuran said.

Naomi's face fell.

Byakuran looked curiously at Naomi and said, "Well, I have a vague idea of where they might be." Naomi looked up hopefully. "The Miliefiore that built it had said something about secret communicators laid all around the seventh…or was it eight (?) floor," Byakuran said. Naomi listened carefully.

_Hmm…_Byakuran thought. "Hold on for a second, Naomi-chan. I think that he said more…he also said something else. He said that because of emergency cases, the communicators weren't connected to anything. In other words, they are private communicators," Byakuran finished his sentenced and thought for awhile more.

Then after a few minutes he nodded. "Yup! That's all that I know," he said. Then looking closely at Naomi he said, "You know that if you want to contact anyone you could always use the main communication room? I'll let you use it if you want to…"

Naomi smiled. _Yes! Finally, I got it! Now I can pass on all this information to Irie Shoichi to help the Vongola…_ she rejoiced.

"Naomi? Naomi-chan…are you there?" Byakuran was waving a marshmallow in front of Naomi's face. It woke Naomi up from her thoughts. Staring at the moving marshmallow dazedly for a second, she blushed. "Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks for offering to let me use the communication room," she said.

Byakuran nodded. "No problem, Naomi-chan. But who do you want to talk with?" he asked. Naomi shook her head indignantly and buried her face in her arms. Byakuran looked confused. "Hey, Naomi-chan. No need to be so afraid. I won't force you to say anything that you don't want to, remember?" he asked softly.

His voice was so close now that his whisper sounded…loud. Naomi looked up and gasped. Byakuran's face was millimeters away from hers. Byakuran smiled. Naomi chuckled and bumped her forehead into his. It felt warm. Now, both Byakuran and Naomi were looking straight into each others eyes. Lies could not be told like this.

"Yeah…I remember…" Naomi said, very softly, "How could I ever forget?" Byakuran smiled and a small chuckle could be heard coming from his throat. Sighing, he moved closer, and closer…and closer. He hesitated, his lips barely millimeters away from Naomi's. Naomi smiled and accepted it.

And that day ended with a kiss.


	14. Chapter 14 Love or Duty

Naomi sneaked into the lift and pressed the button to the seventh floor. She was in a hurry. Her time limit was sixty minutes but she had to be back in fifty. She sighed as the lift opened, revealing a darkened corridor. Nobody used this floor so there was no reason for the lights to be on.

Naomi shook her head to clear her thoughts. She had no time to think. Yesterday, she had felt some feelings that only her old self would ever feel. It was like the new her had lost all her feelings and had become a robot.

Naomi sighed. She had to lose all her feelings for Byakuran in order to carry out her mission. But it was hard. In order to do that, she had become like a robot, without feelings.

But yesterday…yesterday…had changed everything. Their kiss had brought back the old Naomi…the confused one. So it wasn't surprising that the Naomi now was a confused one.

_I love Byakuran…My mission is to bring down his downfall…What should I do?_ Naomi clutched her head in pain. _All this thinking is making me have a headache._

_Forty-five minutes left…_ Naomi thought as she glanced at her watch. She shook her head and put on her night vision goggles. She looked around. _Nothing… _she thought and sighed.

A few minutes ago, Naomi had slipped a sleeping drug into Byakuran's marshmallow since she never saw him eat or drink anything except for marshmallows. The drug was in the form of liquid so it went undetected. Byakuran had taken a bite of it and immediately fell asleep.

_The next room…there's still nothing! _Naomi thought in expiration.

Naomi had snuck down right after Byakuran lost consciousness. She had already planned everything ahead of time so that everything was set as she wanted it to be. The drug would only work for an hour though and that was Naomi's time limit. She had to be back before Byakuran awoke. Any later and she would be in deep trouble.

_One more… It has to be here!_ Naomi thought. She had begun to panic. Time was running out! She only had forty minutes left now. _Ahh…finally…_ she thought. Naomi had stumbled upon a small door which was around a quarter of her height.

She reached for it and pulled the handle…it was locked. Sighing, she thought, _I knew that it would come to this…I guess that I have no choice but to do it again. _

While Naomi was being trained, she had learned a special technique that only a few knew about. While most people could only use a certain flame, for example the rain flame, there were a few exceptional ones that could use more than one flame at once. Naomi had the power to use all the seven flames at once except for the sky flame, which was very rare.

Naomi had learned this from the Vongola storm guardian, Gokudera Hayato. He had a special attack that used all the flames except for the sky flame. This attack was called 'Sistema C.A.I' and was created by the Vongola storm guardian of this time, the same guardian but ten years older.

This was where part of Naomi's talent came in. Although the number of people that could use all the flames at once were few, Naomi had even more potential than those rare cases. Her 'main' flame, the mist flame, was noticeably stronger and purer than most flames but her other flames, although weaker than her mist flame, was able to match up to many other people's 'main' flame.

That meant that Naomi had even more potential than Gokudera in terms of power. As for the power of her mist flame, she could match up to this time's Rokudo Mukuro, the Vongola mist guardian. In terms of potential, she could actually be stronger than the Vongola Decimo himself. But that was just talking about the future. Right now, she could hardly even touch the Vongola cloud guardian, Hibari Kyoya.

Although Naomi might seem a have a power that could defeat Byakuran and exceed anyone, her power had one weakness and one weakness only. It would take a very long time to develop. For every amount of time taken for Byakuran to discover his power, Naomi took ten times the amount of time. But if she was given a chance to maximize her power to its fullest, she could easily exceed Byakuran.

Sighing, Naomi took out a ring and put it on her finger. It was a storm ring. Although she had only used one ring so far, Naomi actually had five more hidden around her neck. Those were a present given to her by Irie Shoichi when he found out about her ability to use more than one flame at a time. The rings that she was given were top-class A' rank rings made by the Miliefiore. Irie had given these rings to Naomi in secret, without telling Byakuran about it so Naomi had kept them a secret from Byakuran.

As for Naomi's mist ring, it was a present given to her by Rokudo Mukuro, when he heard that she was going on this mission. Naomi's mist ring was a very rare and powerful hell ring. It had powers exceeding a normal ring.

Naomi activated her ring. A soft explosion could be heard coming from the seventh floor. Naomi was all covered in dust. In a few minutes, the dust cleared. The door had swung open to reveal an average-sized laptop.


	15. Chapter 15 Naomi's Secret

Tick, tock, tick, tock, the time is ticking off the clock.

Thirty minutes left till Byakuran wakes up.

Opening the laptop, Naomi clicked Miliefiore communications, Japan and was automatically directed connected to Irie's base in Japan. It took three minutes for Irie to answer. He was in his room. That meant that the line that she had clicked on had connected her directly into Irie's personal computer. Good. She needed this talk to be private.

Irie was sleeping when he heard a loud beep. It was coming fro his computer. It was the sound of an incoming call. Leaping up, he reached for the answer button and stopped.

_Naomi…is that you? How could you have found a way to communicate with me? I hope…oh please…I hope that this line is safe. I don't want any of us to get caught._

Irie's heart skipped a beat as he pressed the answer button. Naomi appeared on his computer screen. It looked like she was in darkness. There was hardly any light on her side. The only light came from the glow of the laptop screen.

_What did she do to get this far? Kill Byakuran? No, that wouldn't be possible…still…her power is only growing now. Drug Byakuran? It wouldn't be impossible to do that, I guess._

When Naomi saw Irie, she smiled. Her smile showed hope to Irie that she had fulfilled her mission. Irie smiled back.

"Naomi, are you okay? Has Byakuran found out about this yet? Is this line safe?" Irie asked. Naomi nodded. "It's as safe as I can get. Byakuran has his suspicions but it seems like he's pretty laid back…for now. We should be fine," Naomi said.

Irie nodded. _Pretty laid back? Could Byakuran know something about us? Could he know some things that we don't?_

"Anyway…" Naomi continued, "I don't have much time left so I'll tell you about this base and everything that I have learned about the Miliefiore and Byakuran."

_Don't have much time left? _Irie thought. "Naomi, did you drug Byakuran?" he asked slowly, afraid of the answer. Naomi grinned cheekily. "Yup! I sure did. Now can I continue?" she asked. "But, but…how could you get close enough to put anything in his food or drink?" Irie asked.

"Let's just say that Byakuran lets his guard down a lot when he's around me," Naomi said and glanced at her watch. _Twenty minutes left…_ "Now, can I start!" she asked Irie anxiously. Irie nodded. _Whatever questions that I have is just going to have to wait. I can't risk getting Naomi caught. Not in this situation. I have to hold on to it for now… _Irie thought.

Naomi told Irie Shoichi everything, except for the parts where she and Byakuran were together. She wanted to keep it a secret…at least for now. Irie listened carefully the whole time. His face reflected Naomi's fear of being found out and being caught the whole time.

_Ten minutes left…_the time ticked by slowly on Naomi's hand. Naomi didn't notice and continued talking to Irie Shoichi. Irie was too absorbed in hearing what Naomi had to say to check the time. _Five minutes left…_ the hands on Naomi's watch ticked by slowly. Naomi continued on, unaware of the danger that was creeping up on her.

_Four minutes left…_ Naomi's watch was almost shouting at Naomi to look at it. _Three minutes… _Irie edged Naomi on, unaware. _Two minutes…_ finally Naomi stopped talking for a second to check the time.

The blood drained from her face as she froze in shock. Then her heart beating fast, she slammed the laptop door close, automatically disconnecting the line between Irie's computer and the laptop. Almost throwing the laptop back into the small compartment from which it had originally come from, she used a mist illusion to conceal the damage done to it.

Racing out of the room as fast as possible, she used the sun flames to propel her forward. Bursting through the lift (and causing a tremendous amount of damage as she did so), she used another illusion to hide it. _One minute left…_

_A little more…c'mon! _Naomi thought, her heart almost popping out of her body with the rate that it was beating. _Thirty seconds now… _Naomi turned the corner and the door was in sight. _A little more…! Ten more seconds…_ Naomi had reached the door now. Extinguishing her flames, she opened the door and stepped inside. _Three…two…one…_

_TIME'S UP!_ Naomi tried to calm her heartbeat. She was sweating like mad from her panic. It was cold sweat. Putting her hand on her heart, she used the tranquility factor of the rain flames to calm it. She knew that if she faced Byakuran like this, all sweaty and scared, when he woke up, he would definitely suspect something. He knew that it wouldn't take too long for him to find out the truth.

A chuckle was heard from behind Naomi. "Took you long enough, my so-called innocent puppy. Oh…don't worry those tricks that you played weren't easy to detect. But they were nothing more than a game to me…" a voice said from behind Naomi.

Gasping, she turned around. She knew that voice somewhere. That voice was…BYAKURAN'S!


	16. Chapter 16 Naomi's Spirit

Byakuran chuckled and looked up…right into the eyes of a frightened and shocked Naomi. Naomi backed away towards the door. Byakuran chuckled again and raised his hand. He snapped his fingers and the door slammed shut behind Naomi.

Playing with his marshmallow in his hand, he said, "Well, well. So the little spy puppy has finally returned." He popped the marshmallow into his mouth and stood up. Naomi backed away until she reached the wall. Chuckling and smiling his evil smile, Byakuran walked towards Naomi. He walked slowly while tilting his head. Naomi curled up into a tight ball, her back tight against the wall.

Byakuran reached for Naomi's face with his hands. Naomi shivered at his touch. His fingers were icy cold. She tried to bury her head in her arms but Byakuran was gripping her chin tightly.

Forcefully, Byakuran brought Naomi's face out of hiding and squeezed her chin. Naomi winced in pain. "Don't…please don't…" she whimpered. "My, my…" Byakuran said, his grip on Naomi not relaxing even for a second, "you sound just like a little innocent puppy whimpering." He squeezed Naomi's chin even tighter. She cried out in pain. She could feel her jaw almost breaking.

Byakuran chuckled and brought Naomi's face inches away from his, forcing her to look straight into his eyes. "Unfortunately, because a little 'innocent puppy' is so naïve, it can be captured easily… just like you, Naomi-chan…a little innocent weak and useless puppy. You cant even choose between your duty and your love. You want to help the Vongola Decimo? You're better off dead. Weakling…" He spat those words straight into Naomi's face. And she didn't miss a single word.

_You can't even choose between your duty or your love…weakling…you're better off dead…_ Those words continued ringing in Naomi's ears. Her spirit was on the verge of breaking any time now. _So that is what he can do…is that what he did to the Black Spell captain? What was her name again now? Oh yeah. It was Uni-chan. _Naomi felt her life slipping away now.

_An innocent, weak and useless puppy…_Naomi replayed those words again and again and again in her head, recalling every thing.

_Humph. _Byakuran released Naomi and went back to his packet of marshmallows, leaving Naomi lying in a crumpled heap by the wall. Popping marshmallow by marshmallow into his mouth, he slowly observed Naomi.

_A dream…is this a dream? Mist…cherry blossoms…Sakura trees…a small stream flowing nearby. Ahh…where is this beautiful place? _Naomi wondered. She turned around, taking in everything around her, digesting it. The look on her face was one of pure happiness and joy.

"Enjoying this place, huh? Don't expect to come back here again after this though…" a voice said from somewhere in this imaginary world. Naomi spun around and saw someone emerge from behind a tree. Long and dark blue hair…a trident…it was definitely the Vongola mist guardian, Rokudo Mukuro!

"Welcome to my imaginary world, Naomi. Someone is here to talk to you. Don't expect to come back again…I mean it. This world is only available to only a selected few," Mukuro said and vanished. "I…I…" Naomi stuttered. "Hi…" a shy voice said from behind Naomi. Naomi spun around and came face to face with Chrome Dokuro. Realizing that they were so close, Chrome blushed and backed away.

Naomi stuttered again. Chrome smiled. "Hi…err…*blush*…Naomi…I'm Chrome…"she said softly and shyly. Naomi smiled back. "Who are you?" she asked. Chrome blushed again, making her face turn adorably sweet. "My…name…is…Chrome Dokuro…I am the Vongola Mist Guardian…" she said softly, without looking at Naomi. Instead, she looked at the ground.

"Vongola Mist guardian? I thought that…the Vongola Mist guardian is Rokudo Mukuro?" Naomi asked, confused. "Or are you him? Is this one of his illusions?" she asked, making Chrome blush. Chrome let out a small, shy sound. "No…Rokudo Mukuro and I are one. We co-exist. As long as I live, Mukuro will continue to exist, as long as Mukuro exists, I will continue to live…" Chrome said, shyly.

The look on Naomi's face was one of pure confusion. Chrome blushed and hid her face. Then she looked at Naomi. "That…that's just something the baby and boss said…" Chrome explained.

_The baby? Does she mean the arcobaleno, Reborn? And by the boss…does she mean Tsuna? _Naomi wondered. _I guess that must be so…_Naomi thought.

"But why haven't I seen you around before?" Naomi asked Chrome. _I thought that I knew all the Vongola Guardians…_ Chrome blushed again and replied, "Mukuro-sama…he was possessing me. He used my body to take form. It was…a sort of contract… That's why I never appeared."

_Possessing her, huh? I heard of that skill before. I see now…_ "But…" Naomi tried to press on but Chrome looked frightened. "Please…please…don't ask any more questions…"Chrome said. Her voice was pleading. Naomi nodded. _Well, if that 'contract' and her relationship with Mukuro is what she wants to keep a secret then I won't intrude…_Naomi thought.

Rokudo Mukuro appeared again. He put his hand on Chrome. "My dear Chrome, it is time. We must go…" he said. Chrome nodded shyly and turned to face him. "Wait…!" Naomi cried out, reaching for Mukuro. Chrome turned around to look at Naomi, surprised by her reaction. "Yes?" Mukuro asked. "What…what am I doing here?" Naomi asked, slowly.

Mukuro smiled. "We've come to rescue your spirit. Now, go back…return to your body…you belong there…" Mukuro said and prepared to leave. Naomi thought for a second. _My spirit? Oh…so that was what must have happened to Uni-chan, the captain of the Black Spell. I almost lost my spirit there…_Naomi shivered at the thought.

"Erm…" Naomi said. Mukuro looked at Naomi. "Yes?" he asked. "How do I return…?" Naomi asked. "That is what you have to find out…" Mukuro said and turned away from Naomi. Naomi nodded. "Oh, and one more thing…" Mukuro said without looking back, "Make sure that you never ever lose your spirit again or I won't be there to help you out. Not again…remember that…"

Then with that said, Mukuro turned around, smiled, and vanished into thin air.


	17. Chapter 17 I Wish

The second that Mukuro left, Naomi found herself back at Byakuran's base. She was herself again and she was back in her body. Byakuran was staring at her strangely as he ate his marshmallows. Naomi sighed when she realized that her empty body had been crying. Wiping those tears away she stood up.

Byakuran looked shocked for a second then smiled. "Looks like you managed to find your spirit again. I don't know how you did it but you're still weak. You will die here…" he said, getting up. Naomi just sighed and turned towards the door.

"Going somewhere?" Byakuran asked, appearing in front of Naomi and blocking her path. He took Naomi's face in his hands again. This time, Naomi slapped him away. "You really shouldn't do that," Byakuran said, frowning. Naomi smirked. "Why not?" she challenged.

"You're acting just the same way that you did when I first met you…I like that…" Byakuran said, teasingly. Naomi frowned. "But you're still a weakling! You think that you can win me with power like that? You think that you can win me in a fight? I haven't shown you even a fraction of my power yet," Byakuran said, smirking.

"I have no intention of fighting you," Naomi said and chucked. Byakuran cocked his head and grabbed on to Naomi's hand. "You aren't going anywhere…" he said. Naomi shoved him away. "Nice strength," he said, smiling. Naomi just scoffed.

"I have no intention of hanging around here any longer…" Naomi said and disappeared into thin air. She found herself in a long tunnel. It was pulling her down it. She felt like she was riding on an air current. The tunnel was colorful. Naomi enjoyed the ride a lot.

Byakuran stood there in shock, his hand grasping empty air. _Where…where did that kid go to? _He thought curiously, _That would have been a nice power to have…teleportation…Now the question is…where did she teleport to? _

Irie Shoichi was researching something on his computer when he heard a loud zap. Then he heard something landing. Turning around, he smiled when he realized who it was. He shut down his computer and spun around to face the girl that he had not seen in a long time.

Naomi smiled back at Irie for a split second then fell to the floor, unconscious. Irie's eyes opened wide then he rushed to catch her. He made it just in time, one second before her head touched the floor. A tiny drop of sweat trickled down from the side of his face.

Slowly, he brought Naomi towards his bed and laid her there. _What do I do now? I knew that this day would soon come. I have to hide her. Surely Byakuran would go on a rampage now. And if he has found out the whole truth…then I must hide too._ Irie Shoichi thought, anxiously.

Naomi stirred. "Vongola Decimo…I must go…there…" she whispered then lost her consciousness. _Vongola Decimo! Right! We have to contact Tsuna-san and find a way to reach the Vongola's base safely. It wouldn't be too difficult for me to sneak out of here but where can I hide Naomi while I'm gone?_ Irie wondered.

"Irie-chan. Don't worry about me. I'll be fine…" Naomi was slipping in and out of consciousness now. But she fought hard to stay conscious. Irie's eyes opened wide. Without him knowing, Naomi had touched his forehead while he was thinking and had read his thoughts. That was her way of reading thoughts.

Slowly, Naomi's hand slipped off Irie's forehead. It slipped right unto her heart. Irie sighed and left Naomi on his bed. He turned around and was about to go back to his computer to figure out a way of communicating with the Vongola Decimo when a bright light blinded him for a second.

Irie spun around and saw Naomi sitting up. Her hand was still on her heart. It was engulfed in yellow flames. _Yellow flames…_Irie thought, still too stunned to move. _The healing factor of the sun flames! So she finally figured out how to use it. But still…normal sun flames wouldn't be enough to completely heal damage this bad._

After a few minutes, Naomi extinguished her flames and stood up. She smiled at Irie and laughed at his surprised expression. She couldn't help it…he just looked so funny.

Irie looked closely at Naomi. She looked completely healed. _But how…?_ Irie wondered, and then he figured it out. _I remember Gokudera saying something about her flames…Ah, yes! He said that although her other flames were not as strong as her mist flame, they were still very pure and large in comparison to other normal flame wielders._

"Naomi…" Irie said slowly. _Yes? _Naomi cocked her head and looked at Irie curiously. She hadn't seen him in a long time and in her own way, missed him. She was curious as to how he would react towards her surprise arrival.

Irie frowned. He was still thinking. "Light your flame up, please. Your sun flame…" he said slowly. Naomi looked surprised but nodded. Lighting up her A' rank ring, she looked curiously at Irie. The sun flame engulfed her whole hand again. Irie's eyes almost popped out of its sockets when he saw Naomi's flame. He just stared at it in amazement.

_Those flames…I've seen the adult Sasagawa Ryohei use sun flames before, but this…this flame is ten times purer and larger than Ryohei's flame. How…how is this even possible? No wonder she was able to heal herself even in her serious condition. _Irie thought, slowly.

Naomi cleared her throat. She knew that Irie would never respond when he was thinking if you didn't shake him. And…she was right. Irie didn't respond. Sighing, she walked right up in front of him and put her hand on his shoulder. Then she shook him…hard.

_Ow…ow…ow…_ Irie snapped out of his thoughts and looked at Naomi blankly. "What did you do that for?" he demanded, shaking his head to clear his thoughts. Naomi sighed and said, "Have you been dreaming? We have to get out of here as soon as possible. Oh, and Byakuran knows that you are a spy too," Naomi said.

The blood drained from Irie's face. "Apparently, Byakuran knew of our secret talk the other day…" Naomi said. Irie sighed. "I thought that you said that that line was safe…" he said, annoyed. "I…I'm sorry…" she said, hanging her head. Irie sighed and shook his head. "Nah…it's not your fault. I knew that this would happen…sooner or later…" he said, slowly.

Naomi looked sad. "So, what happened anyway?" Irie asked, "I thought that you drugged Byakuran." "I did…but something happened…" she said, slowly. _Something happened? _Irie wondered and looked at Naomi enquiringly. Naomi looked away, ashamed. "It's just…I think that he knew that I was a spy the whole time and was just playing with me! I don't know anymore!" Naomi cried out and sank to the floor, her legs giving way under her. _Naomi…_Irie thought, pitifully.

_You can't even choose between your duty and your love… You want to help the Vongola Decimo…You're better off dead…weakling…_ Those words all came back to Naomi. She cried out in pain and agony. Irie watched, hopeless.

_I thought that you loved me…why would you do such a thing to me? I guess that it's better this way thought but…still…if only we weren't born like this. If only we were both normal…we could have loved each other…really loved each other…_

_I wish…_


	18. Chapter 18 Everyone

Irie just watched helplessly as Naomi suffered quietly. _I need to get her out of here. And fast too! Me too… Byakuran might just issue an order to catch me at any moment now. Then… I'll be dead meat. But whatever happens, Naomi needs to make it to the Vongola's hideout safely. She would be a valuable asset to have when fighting Byakuran. But now… Irie thought and glanced at Naomi. I just have to let her out of all this suffering… whatever it is. I just can't bear watching her suffer like this._

Irie went up to Naomi and put his hand around her. Naomi whimpered then looked up. She smiled sadly. Irie supported Naomi with his body and managed to get her unto his bed…somehow. Naomi's legs had gone limp and she could not move nor stand so Irie had a hard time moving her. "Wait there a little while more. I'll get spanner to come and help," Irie said and ran off.

Naomi just lay limp on the bed, all her muscles unable to move. She was a wreak. _Byakuran…_ she whispered as she stared at the ceiling of Irie's room. Everything else that happened next was a blur to her.

Irie had run out of the room in search of Spanner and found him working on his _Mini Mosca robot that spanner had built. When he noticed Irie standing there, Spanner looked up. "Yeah? Going somewhere? You look like you're in a hurry. Is it the pastry again?" Spanner asked, returning to his work. "If that's so, strawberry flavor would be nice…" he said, getting back into 'work mode' again._

"Wait!" Spanner stopped working again and turned around. He looked curiously at Irie. "Irie-san, is something wrong?" he asked slowly. _Irie never looks like this unless something is wrong…_Spanner thought. "Na…nao…" Irie said, trying to catch his breath. Spanner took off his goggles and got up. He walked next to Irie and whispered, "We've been caught, huh?"

Irie's eyes opened wide. "How'd you…" he said, leaving his sentence hanging. Spanner nodded gravely. "I knew that this day would surely come. It is inevitable," he said slowly. Irie nodded. "Come, let's go to your room. Maybe I can figure out something there," Spanner said, heading for the door. Irie just followed him.

Once they were outside Irie's room, Irie caught Spanner's shoulder. Spanner turned around. "Yeah?" he asked Irie. "You'll be surprised at what you will find in there," Irie warned him. Spanner just nodded and entered Irie's room. His eyes opened wide when he saw Naomi lying on Irie's bed.

"How'd she get here?" Spanner asked, turning to Irie. "She got found out and teleported here," Irie replied. "Of all places…why here? She put herself in more danger by coming here…" Spanner asked, approaching Naomi. "She wanted to warm us…" Irie replied, glancing at Naomi sadly. "I see…thanks Naomi…" Spanner said, pushing the hair out of Naomi's face, "So she lost consciousness as an effect of using that…Am I right?"

Irie sighed and shook his head. Spanner raised his eyebrows curiously and took the strawberry lollipop out of his mouth. "She…she used the sun flames to heal herself. She was fine…but then…." Irie said and gestured to Naomi lying on the bed. Spanner observed Naomi closely but found no damage done to it. "You're right. But then… if she's healed…Is she just tired?" he asked Irie.

"I don't know…but I hope so…I think that this is much more complicated than that though…After she healed herself she was fine but then she just suddenly started clutching head and crying out in pain. Then her whole body went limp. Whatever this is…it's not normal," Irie said. Spanner looked at Naomi, concerned.

Vongola Decimo was eating his dinner when Spanner walked in. "Hi, Spanner!" Tsuna greeted him. He was playing with Lambo. Reborn took one look at Spanner and said, "She's back, huh?" Spanner looked surprised but nodded. Tsuna put Lambo down and asked, "Who's back?" Spanner and reborn just ignored him.

"I need to talk to you for awhile," Reborn told Spanner. Spanner nodded. They headed towards the door. Tsuna got up and shouted, "Wait! Why aren't you guys telling me anything!" reborn hopped unto Spanner's shoulder and took out his giant rubber hammer. "Oi…Reborn…What's that for…?" Tsuna asked looking at the giant rubber hammer. In reply, reborn hit Tsuna on the head with it. _Ow…ow…ow…_ Tsuna stumbled backwards at the blow. "No-good Tsuna," he said and turned to Spanner.

"Let's go…" he said. Spanner nodded. "Wait…" Tsuna said, trying to get up. He was clutching his head. "What's going on?" he demanded. Reborn turned around and kicked Tsuna in the face. _Ow…ow…ow…_ "What did you do that for, Reborn?" Tsuna cried out as he stumbled backwards.

"This is important…" Reborn said and walked out of the room, "C'mon Spanner. We got a lot of work to do." Spanner nodded and looked at Tsuna. _Important…what could be going on? _Tsuna thought, sitting on the floor. Spanner turned around to leave just as Tsuna got up again. "Wait…Spanner," Tsuna said. Spanner turned around and said, "My, my. Aren't you persistent? I'll tell you something. Naomi's back…" Then Spanner left the room.

_Naomi…Are you okay? It's a good thing that you're back but that could only mean one thing. Byakuran's coming…_ Tsuna thought. _Ah! Byakuran! _ Tsuna freaked out and backed squeezed himself against the wall.

"Reborn…what is it?" Spanner asked once they were out in the hallway. "Well…we've been found out am I right?" Reborn asked Spanner. "Yeah…" Spanner answered. "If so where's Irie?" Reborn asked. "He's taking care of Irie. Apparently something went wrong when Naomi teleported. Both of them are now in Irie's room," Spanner said, looking in front. _What happened to Naomi? What did Irie mean when he said that she was suffering? Did he mean psychically or mentally? This is so confusing…_ Spanner thought.

Reborn nodded and hopped back unto Spanner's shoulder. "Hey…Reborn…" Spanner said, snapping out of his thoughts. Reborn smiled. They came to a room. The door opened. Bianchi, Futa and Giannini were sitting inside the room. "Oh, Reborn!" _Giannini_said. "Oh? Hi there Reborn," Futa said. "Reborn…" Bianchi said, getting up to hold Reborn.

"Ciaossu, Bianchi!" Reborn hopped into Bianchi's arms and settled there. Bianchi sat back down. "Hey there, Spanner! Got any news for us?" Futa asked. "Yeah…" Spanner replied and glanced at Reborn. Reborn hopped out of Bianchi's arms and unto the table. "Naomi's back, that's the news. And also that Irie and Spanner have been discovered," he said, looking around him. Futa and Giannini looked shocked. Bianchi just stared at Reborn.

"What happened, Spanner?" Bianchi asked. Spanner stopped biting his lollipop (which he had popped into his mouth a few moments ago) and answered, "Yeah. Like what Reborn said. Naomi's back. There's not much more to tell you guys except that Naomi is…how do I put it…" Spanner said. "What do you mean?" Giannini asked. "She's not in a very stable condition now. Irie's taking care of her," Spanner explained.

Chrome was passing by the room that Spanner was in when she heard Naomi's name being mentioned. She hugged Mukurowl close and entered the room. Then she stood there, unsure of what to do. "Ciaossu, Chrome. Come on in," Reborn said and hopped unto Chrome's shoulder.

_Oh! _Chrome blushed and took her seat. "Hey there, Chrome," Futa said and turned to Spanner. Reborn ended up sitting on Chrome's shoulder. When everyone was settled down, Spanner said, "Okay. There's something that I need to tell you." "Good or bad?" Bianchi asked. Futa and Giannini looked at Spanner expectantly.

Spanner shook his head. "Naomi teleported to Irie's room but almost lost consciousness doing that. So she used the sun flames to heal herself. She was fine but then something strange happened…" Spanner said. "Something strange? What is it?" Futa asked. Spanner shook his head again. "I don't quite understand it either. It's a mystery. I'm confused too. Irie said something about her legs suddenly giving way under her and she cried out in pain or something. H also said that her body became limp. I saw her. She can't move or do anything. Or at least she doesn't want to…" Spanner said.

Mukurowl ruffled his wings. _Oh?_ Chrome looked at Mukurowl. She let it go and it flew up into the air. "Chrome…lend me your body for awhile…" Mukuro whispered. Chrome nodded. Slowly, her body began to transform, taking the form of Mukuro. "Ah…it's nice to be out of the Vindicare prison once in a while," Mukuro said, smiling.

"Ciaossu, Mukuro!" Reborn said and hopped unto the table. He turned to face Mukuro. _Oh?_ Mukuro looked at Reborn. "Hey there, arcobaleno. It has been a long time. You want to talk to me, I assume?" he asked, addressing Reborn. "Yeah," Reborn said and left the room. "C'mon, Mukuro!" he called from outside. Mukuro sighed and left the room.

"Oh yeah, Spanner!" Reborn said, his face appearing at the door, "You know what to do. Tell them everything that you know and get No-good Tsuna and the others ready. The battle is about to begin." Spanner nodded. Reborn disappeared. Spanner turned back to the others.

"Still calling that kid No-good Tsuna, huh? You never change, arcobaleno…" Mukuro said, "Kufufu." Reborn nodded. "Yeah. But it's true," Reborn said. "Kufufu…Where do we go now?" Mukuro asked. "Here's fine," Reborn replied.

Mukuro nodded. "You have something important to say right, Mukuro?" Reborn asked. Mukuro nodded again and said, "Yeah, arcobaleno. It's about Naomi. The problem with her is that she's fallen in love with Byakuran…" Reborn frowned.

Back at Irie's room, Naomi's heart slowed down. Her body stopped moving entirely. "Everyone…I'm sorry…forgive me…" she said with her last breath. Her heart stopped beating.


	19. Chapter 19 Naomi's Death

_I'm sorry, Byakuran. I can only go this far without you. Guess we won't be able to have that fight that you were so hard up for…_

"Naomi! Naomi…no! Don't…please…don't…" tears trickled down Irie's cheeks. Naomi's heartbeat had stopped. "No…I wouldn't have sent you on this mission if I knew that this would happen…Naomi, no…please! Please…don't…don't die…" Irie's voice had been reduced to small sobs. "Don't…it's my fault…I wouldn't…I shouldn't…Naomi, please!" Irie cried out sadly.

Back at the Vongola hideout, Tsuna heard a voice…a soft voice calling out to him. "Vongola Decimo…forgive me…" the voice was soft, whispery. A light breeze blew Tsuna's hair softly like the sound of rustling grass. _I know that voice…It's so familiar…_Tsuna thought. The voice echoed around inside Tsuna's head. Then it got carried away by the wind. The soft voice became no more. The wind stopped blowing. Everything was deathly quiet. A chill ran up Tsuna's spine.

"Everyone…Kyoko, Haru…you were so kind…" the voice was there…in the kitchen. Kyoko and Haru were preparing supper there. "Hahi! Kyoko! Did you hear that?" Haru squeaked and clung to Kyoko. "It was a voice…a soft, whispery, sad voice… It sounds so familiar…" Kyoko said. "Hahi! Now that you've mentioned it…I guess that I've hard it somewhere before too…but where?" Haru wondered. "Ahh…that food smells so good…I wish that I could eat your cooking again…" the whispery voice blew along with a light breeze. Haru's skirt ruffled a little. Then both the breeze and the voice were no more.

I-pin and Lambo were playing in the hallway when a cold breeze lifted them up for a few seconds. Lambo clung to I-pin. "Lambo-san…freezing!" he cried out. "I-pin…shivering!" I-pin clung on to Lambo's hair. "I-pin…Lambo…you both were always so cute…I'll miss you both…I wish that I could play with you again…" the soft, whispery voice was heard all along the corridor.

"Gho…ghost!" Lambo cried out and clambered unto little I-pin. "I-pin…scared…" I-pin cried out. "Hahaha…I-pin's a coward…" Lambo teased I-pin. "Lambo scared too! Don't call other people coward when you're scared!" I-pin cried out in her shrill voice. "I-pin…Lambo…goodbye…" The cold breeze stopped and the voice was gone.

Spanner was explaining the situation to Bianchi, Futa and Giannini when that voice appeared again and interrupted them. "You guys…thank you for everything. I'll never forget you guys…ever…" the voice was soft and carried a breeze with it. The breeze, although cold, brought a sense of calmness along with it. For a moment there, everything froze. The breeze blew softly on their faces then disappeared. The voice was also gone.

Byakuran was sitting on a couch eating his marshmallows when the room suddenly became cold. "Byakuran…no matter what…I'll always love you…" the voice whispered right into Byakuran's ear. He could feel the cold air on his cheek. Then the wind and everything else was gone. Byakuran looked around, shrugged and continued eating his marshmallows.

Mukuro was talking to Reborn about Naomi when the voice appeared. "Mukuro-sama…thank you for everything that you have taught me…" the voice whispered. "Chrome…Is that you? Mukuro asked softly. "No…I'm right here…" Chrome replied in Mukuro's mind. Mukuro nodded and turned to Reborn. "Arcobaleno…we've got news…" he said. Reborn frowned.

"Naomi's dead…"


	20. Chapter 20 Afterlife

_People say that when you die you have sudden flashbacks of your life. I guess that this must be happening to me right now. Where am I?_ Naomi wondered. She was in a dark tunnel. _There's no light…what a dark and fearful place this is…_she thought.

Then all of a sudden, the tunnel pulled her in and the whole scene changed before her eyes. Naomi found herself in a barren wasteland. Robots and machines were everywhere. People lay in dead heaps around her. Looking around, she saw that one person looked familiar.

Naomi walked forwards. She touched the person and knew that the person was definitely dead. Turning the dead body over, Naomi gasped and found herself looking right into the eyes of Uni… the captain of the black spell. There was a person lying down next to her. Looking closer, Naomi realized that it was Gamma.

Then the whole scene changed before her eyes again. She was back in the dark tunnel. It pulled her in and she found herself in another place again. She was in a forest. There was something going on here. Naomi could hear voices but couldn't really make out what the words were. The voices were coming from over those trees.

Making her way over there, Naomi parted the leaves and saw eight people standing in a circle before her. No…not people. The term 'babies' would be more suitable. Looking closely, she could make out the faces of the babies. They were the eight arcobalenos. There was Reborn, Colonello, Lal Mirch, Fong, Skull, Viper and Verde. Turning to the last of them all, she realized that this arcobaleno did not have the body of an infant but instead had the body of an adult.

She wore white all over and a cap and a cloak. Nearing her, Naomi caught a glimpse of her face and instantly knew who it was. It was Uni. The eight arcobaleno seemed to be in some sort of ritual. Nearing them, Naomi saw a small bundle in the middle of the circle.

Then a bright light blinded her. The eight arcobalenos had linked hands and different colors were shining from each of the different arcobalenos. Fong was covered in red, Verde was covered in green, Reborn was covered in yellow, Colonello and Lal Mirch were covered in blue, Viper was covered in indigo, Skull was covered in purple and Uni was covered in orange.

All the seven colors formed a rainbow which linked the arcobalenos to the bundle in the middle. Nearing them even closer, Naomi now saw that the bundle was indeed a baby wrapped in cloth. The color of the cloth was white but was now changing color.

The light was too bright for Naomi to look anymore. She shed her eyes with her hand and looked at the ground. Then she noticed something strange. Her clothes were changing color. At first it had changed to white but now it had become colorful.

Staring at her clothes, Naomi realized that they only had seven colors on it. Her clothes had the seven colors of the rainbow. Looking at the baby in the middle of the circle, Naomi realized that her clothes were the same color as the baby's cloth.

The baby was lifted up into the air. The cloth fell, revealing the baby's face. It was a baby girl. She had hair so fine and so dark. Her little face shone with a kind or angelicness that was hard to come by. She was a little beauty, no doubt.

Pain struck Naomi. She screamed out loud but nobody, none at all, heard her. The eight arcobalenos continued with that strange thing that they were doing. _What is this…what…I have seen this happening before…rainbow colored lights…the eight arcobalenos in a circle…I have seen this all before…all through the baby's eyes…It's a blur…a faint memory…_

Naomi fell to the ground. She heard the little baby gurgle in happiness. Her voice was like the sound to silver bells ringing. _So adorable…_Naomi thought faintly. Then the whole scene changed again. This time, Naomi found herself back in the barren wasteland with a few houses in sight. She was outside an old, almost destroyed house.

She heard shouts from inside and a girl, almost an adult, stepped out from the house. She was carrying the same, unmistakable small bundle that Naomi had seen earlier. The baby was crying and the girl was trying to soothen her. A small, white flash came from the baby. All of a sudden, the baby's cries were gone. Naomi gasped, thinking that the baby had died but paused when she heard soft snores come from the baby. _She's so cute…even when she's sleeping…_Naomi thought.

Then, Naomi heard a man's voice. He came running out of the house and shouted to the girl, "He's coming! We have to get her out of here, quick!" The girl nodded and turned around, t where Naomi was standing. Naomi caught a glimpse of the girl's face and gasped. It was Uni alright. There was no mistaking it. But Uni had grown older. And there was a fierce determination in her eyes that Naomi knew that she would never forget.

The pain struck Naomi again. Memories came flooding into her. Vague…unknown memories that Naomi wasn't even sure was hers. _These memories…I have never had them before…_Naomi gasped. It was getting hard for her to breathe. She was in the arms of Uni…looking through the eyes of that delicate baby again…just like what she had done earlier…There was someone beside Uni, but Naomi could barely make out who he was. Her vision was becoming blurrier by the second. Of course this was around the part where the baby fell asleep. Naomi forced herself to remember…and finally she got a glimpse of the person's face…right before the baby fell asleep. It was Gamma.

_Why…why do I have all these strange memories? _Naomi wondered, _I have never ever had them before this. Why do I even have memories that aren't even mine? Why am I seeing the memories of the little baby girl there? Could it be…?_

Then a bright flash of light made Naomi blind for a second. When she looked around, she realized that she was in a hospital. It was bright and the hospital looked new. Everywhere, parents were with their babies. Naomi felt a pang of hurt for not knowing how it felt to have your parents hold you like that.

Then, Naomi heard a voice. _I know that voice! _Naomi thought and spun around. It was Uni and she was carrying a very small and tiny little bundle, fully covered in cloth. It was impossible to see what it was. Naomi felt a pang of jealousy. _Of course I know what that bundle really is! But why a I being shown all these memories of how much Uni loves that little baby there? I am jealous…jealous of that innocent little bundle of joy. Where are my parents? Oh right. They left me by myself at that uncle's house, _Naomi thought sarcastically. She felt a sudden hatred towards her parents.

Gamma was walking beside Uni and holding her hand. Again, Naomi felt a pang of jealousy. She missed Byakuran dearly so much that her heart pined for him but she knew…even though she didn't want to…that having a life with Byakuran was impossible. _Byakuran would kill me the next time he sees me. It would be impossible…Why is this happening? Of all people…Why must it be Uni and Gamma and this innocent little baby? What is this? _Naomi cried out silently.

Then the scene changed again. Naomi was in an old town in Italy. _Hold on a second…I know this place very well…like the back of my hand…this place is where I was raised up and taken care by that uncle. This is also the place where he used to sell his delicious ramen. People from all over the place would come. His shop was always packed…even during his funeral…so many people came to say their goodbyes…_Naomi thought, tears trickling down her cheeks. _This is also the place where Irie found me…_

A bright flash of light appeared. Then the light was gone, leaving Uni in its place. She was carrying that tiny bundle in her arms. Slowly, she opened the cloth to reveal the baby's head. She kissed the baby's forehead gently and hugged her close, never wanting to let her go. Tears ran down Uni's cheeks and unto the baby's face.

Approaching the door, Uni hugged the baby even tighter. Shaking her head, she put the baby on the steps and knocked on the door. Then, her eyes filled with tears, she turned around and disappeared.

_What…what is this baby doing here? Why is that baby left in this place which I so much treasure? That house is where the uncle and I stayed…what is this baby doing here? _Naomi cried out in anger. Her voice echoed around the mountains but nobody either came out of their houses nor heard her.

Naomi walked towards the baby and opened the cloth. The baby was put in a delicate handmade basket. _Probably made by Uni herself…_ Naomi thought bitterly. There was a tag tied to the cloth. Reaching out to turn the tag over Naomi froze, fresh tears spilling over when she read what the tag said.

To whoever finds this baby girl,

Please take care of her. I couldn't keep her any longer for fear of something bad happening. Please, I beg you. Take care of this baby girl. There are a few tokens of appreciation in side this basket as well as a small sum of money. The baby's name is Naomi.

Thank You.


	21. Chapter 21 Rebirth Day

Naomi gasped. Then everything became black. Naomi wasn't in the tunnel. She was just standing in an empty, black space which seemed to stretch on forever. She fell down to her knees. The new knowledge which she had attained was too much for her.

Naomi's body lay in that empty space, unmoving. Time became unknown to her. She suffered in her own little world, confused and hurting inside. _How…how could I have been that little baby…ow could i…how could Uni be my mother? And Gamma my real father? How…how is this possible? _Naomi cried out silently.

Yet in her heart, Naomi knew that the baby…she always knew…deep inside…there was a little voice in her that had cried out as the baby…Secretly, Naomi could see the resemblance of the baby. _That soft, black hair…_Naomi said silently, _I knew it all along…I just didn't want to admit it. _

From high in the clouds, past the black, empty space where Naomi was in, her parents watched silently. "Poor Naomi…I'm so sorry…" Uni said softly. Gamma put his hand around her. "She'll be fine. We had no choice…it was better ff this way," he said, comforting Uni. Uni nodded, tears running down her cheeks. "Come, it's time…" Gamma said. Uni nodded again, her throat choking back a sob. One hand held Gamma's while the other clutched the orange pacifier that was held by a string around her neck.

A bright white light appeared where Naomi was. Then, the whole black space was filled with light. Naomi shielded her eyes against the light. Slowly, the light began to dim. Then a voice spoke, "Stand up, Naomi-chan, great granddaughter of mine."

Naomi looked up and saw a woman standing before her. She looked somewhat like her mother. The woman smiled down at her and knelt down beside her. She touched Naomi's legs and Naomi found that she could now move. The woman stood up and offered Naomi her hand. "My name is Luce, Uni's grandmother. I am the original holder of the orange sky pacifier. You are the next guardian, child. See, your mother's here to greet you," Luce said.

Naomi looked up. Behind Luce stood Uni and Gamma. Naomi could tell that her mother had been crying. Her father was holding Uni's hand. Uni smiled at Naomi. Luce laughed. "I see the resemblance. This would have been a very happy reunion indeed. However, it can't last long," she said. Uni nodded. "You know what to do," Luce said and turned away from them. She disappeared into thin air.

Naomi stared into her mother's kind eyes. She was unsure of what to do. Gamma however, disappeared then reappeared beside Naomi. Naomi gasped. Gamma smiled and looked straight into Naomi's face. Then he hugged her. "We missed you…" he whispered into her ear. "Yeah…" Uni said. She walked towards Naomi.

"Come…let's sit down…" Gamma said and three chairs appeared in that white space. "Yeah…sure…" Naomi said and sat down. "Let me explain what really happened the day of your birth," Uni said. Naomi nodded.

"When you were born, both Gamma and I were overjoyed. But our happiness was short lived when Byakuran easily took over that world. We feared for your safety and I asked the arcobaleno to give you some of their power and they agreed. It took place in the woods. Then one day, Byakuran came to destroy the village and kill everyone, including the little children. The adults had mostly escaped, leaving the children behind. I decided to send you to another dimension, one where Byakuran did not have full control over. One where there was still hope. That was the world where you met that uncle, Irie, uncle Reborn, Vongola Decimo and his guardians," Uni said.

"We went to help the children. But Byakuran was too strong for us. Uni sacrificed her life to protect them. And I died trying to protect Uni. It was sad…" Gamma continued.

"Byakuran…" Naomi whispered. At the sound of his name, all the memories of the times that they had spent together came flooding back. She still loved him although he had killed her mother. _He showed such compassion with me…was it all a lie?_ Naomi thought sadly. "Naomi, child…" Uni said softly. Naomi looked up, curiously. "I know that you love him…" Uni said, making Naomi gasp. Gamma nodded. "We've been watching you, Naomi," he said. "I'm sorry…it's just that I can't let go…he was so kind…" Naomi said, hanging her head. Uni shook her head.

"It's not your fault. It is understandable. He took you in and accepted you, which is a thing that only a few people in your life did. After what you've been through, wouldn't be surprised that you fell for him," Uni said, patting Naomi on the shoulder. "Mother…I'm sorry…" Naomi said softly, hugging Uni. Uni shook her head again and smiled. "Don't be. I don't mind it at all. Beside, I truly believe that Byakuran is not entirely bad. At some times that I truly believe that he is good, especially when he is with you. No one can be entirely bad, my daughter…just...different. I really think that he does love you…in his own twisted way," Uni said smiling.

"Mother…" Naomi said softly tears running down her cheeks. Gamma came over and hugged them both. "Thank you other…thank you, father…thanks everyone!" Naomi said, happily. Luce watched them from a distance. _Reunions are sweet…_Luce thought, remembering the arcobalenos first meeting together. None of them knew anyone there so they were increasingly wary of each other. Luce had been the one to break the ice.

She had made cookies and offered them to everyone. She was the one who had convinced everyone to eat her cookies and told Reborn that his sideburns were his most attractive features. She had somehow managed to get Reborn to dink her espresso. At first he had refused to eat her cookies as he said that cookies were sweet things and he did not like them. So, Luce offered him her espresso and finally after her gentle persistency, Reborn had agreed. _Reborn…you were the kindest there…even though you did not know me…_Luce thought. she missed Reborn but had willingly accepted her destiny as the orange arcobaleno cursed with short life.

"I hate to break the moment but it's nearly time," Luce said, appearing before Uni, Gamma and Naomi. Uni nodded. "Naomi…it's not time for you to die yet. You have to defeat Byakuran," Uni said. "I didn't say kill, just defeat him…" she quickly added when she saw the look on Naomi's face. "You'll know what to do when the time comes. You have to help the Vongola Decimo and his guardians…Besides, I've been watching them and I think you should know that the Vongola Decimo cares strongly for you. He doesn't want anything bad to happen to you. Oh…and that kid with the orange hair…he was weeping on your deathbed. Take care of them, Naomi…and that means defeating Byakuran. For as long as Byakuran continues to rein over the world, they will continue to suffer…" Uni said, softly.

"My daughter…don't let your feelings get in the way of defeating Byakuran. Promise me…whatever happens…you must help the Vongola Decimo…" Gamma said, clutching Naomi hard, "The consequences will be bad if he takes over the world." "My feelings…" Naomi said softly, "I can't promise you that…but I can promise you one thing. I can promise you that I will try my best." Gamma smiled. "That alone is good enough. Remember, we're counting on you…" he said, putting his hand around Naomi. "Yeah…" Luce and Uni said. Naomi smiled. "Thank you, everyone…" she whispered as tears filled her eyes.

"Now…" Luce said, approaching Naomi, "This orange pacifier has never been passed down after Uni's death…until now…" Uni smiled and took off her pacifier from around her neck. She approached Naomi. "This is yours from now onwards. Take good care of it. You are now the guardian of the orange pacifier. Remember though, the me from that world –as you know- isn't dead yet. The power of this pacifier won't activate until I die. Which…I know…will be soon enough…" Uni said.

"Mother…" Naomi said. "Don't worry. Soon, she will join me and we will become one. I will meet her soon. It is our destiny. Accept your destiny, my daughter, as you wear this orange pacifier around your neck. Orange arcobalenos always live a very short life. Live your life to the fullest and enjoy every moment of it," Uni said, handing the pacifier to Naomi.

Naomi nodded and accepted it. "I will save the universe –or at least I will try- no matter what…" she said and embraced Uni. Uni smiled and hugged her back. Gamma joined them. And after awhile, so did Luce. "I won't be seeing you in a long time to come I hope. Good luck on your mission," Uni said and smiled. "Thank you, everyone! I promise that I will do my best!" Naomi cried out. "That will surely be enough…" Gamma said, smiling.

A bright flash of light blinded Naomi. And in a second, Uni, Gamma and Luce were all gone. Naomi found herself in a white tunnel. _Good luck…_Naomi heard Uni say softly. Naomi smiled as the tunnel opened up to swallow her.

Naomi felt life and energy being fed into her. She closed her eyes and when she opened them again, she found herself back in Irie's room.She was back! She was back in her own body again! _Finally…_Naomi thought.


	22. Chapter 22 Reborn!

_A heartbeat! Could it actually be?_ Irie gasped and looked up. He was resting on Naomi (more like crying) so he could feel every movement that she made. It had been an hour or so since he had confirmed her dead. Spanner had called to check on Naomi's situation. Apparently, she had 'visited' them while she was dead. Everybody had heard her voice.

Slowly, Irie looked at Naomi's face, not daring to know the truth. Then something stirred under him_. Yes! It was true! Naomi is ALIVE!_ Irie almost shouted out in joy. His heart skipped a beat. Naomi yawned and opened her eyes. Irie grinned down at her.

_Oh? I am back in my own body, huh? Nice…but I feel so tired…so sleepy…_Naomi thought and blinked. Irie's face was inches away from hers. _Ah? Ah! _Naomi let out a tiny shocked sound and backed away from Irie. Irie stared at her blankly for a second. A look of surprise crossed his face.

"Na…Naomi? Is that really you?" Irie stammered. Naomi looked surprised then stared at Irie. Then she smiled and nodded. "Yup! Did I miss anything?" she asked cheerfully. "Ah…ah!..." Irie opened his mouth but closed it, unable to find the words. "Yeah…you missed something all right…your own funeral…" Irie muttered under his breath. _Hmm…_Naomi frowned.

"You look like you've seen a ghost. Anything wrong?" Naomi asked, looking closely at Irie's face. Irie just stared back at her dumbly. Naomi frowned when she noticed Irie's tear-stained cheeks. They were still wet. _He's been crying alright. His eyes are all red and swollen. What's up with that? It's not like I matter that much anyway… _Naomi thought sadly. She was sure that she was so useless that nobody would ever notice her even if she died. _Not a very pleasant thought to have…since I just came back from the dead…_ Naomi sighed.

Irie stared back at her. "Are…are you really Naomi? Why…I thought that you were…" Irie said, unable to say that horrible word. He truly believed that Naomi had died. His eyes were stating to fill up again. He turned away from Naomi and blinked the tears away. _Dead…huh? Yeah, I guess that you could say so. I wonder how long it has been since I 'died'…_Naomi wondered.

"Hey…It's me alright. Don't look so frightened. I'm not a ghost. Chillax…I just went on a little adventure…that's all…" Naomi said slowly, not wanting to scare Irie anymore. _Man, he must have had quite a shock when I suddenly woke up from my 'grave'. I guess if I were in his shoes I would be feeling the very same thing. But how can I sort this out? Even I wonder if this is all a dream or is it real. Am I still dead? Hmm…I wonder if my muscles are functioning fine…_Naomi wondered. She examined her hand, turning it one way and another.

_Yep! My hand's functioning just fine. And this can't be a dream I guess…_Naomi thought, pinching herself. She winced. _That hurt…yeah…I'm not dreaming. And no side effects of being dead... At least not so far…except for being exceptionally tired…sigh…I haven't felt this tired in a very long time. I guess you just can't have everything. _Naomi yawned. "I see…I guess…" Irie said and got to his feet. "I'm sorry…I was just…surprised…" Irie mumbled. Naomi nodded. "I understand. It wouldn't be normal for you not to be surprised anyway. After all…I guess that I did die…in a way…" Naomi said slowly, standing up.

_Hmm…_Irie frowned. _I wonder what that was all about…was Naomi really dead just now? _Irie thought. "Hey…just want to ask you something," he said slowly. Naomi looked up. "Yeah? What is it, Irie?" she asked. "Were…were you really dead?" Irie asked Naomi. Naomi smiled sadly and nodded. "Yeah…I really was…" she said slowly and watched as Irie's face drained of blood.

Irie nodded. "Then I'll have to inform the rest that you're still alive. We have to get out of here. Can you move well enough?" Irie asked. "Yeah…but what do you mean by informing the others that I'm still alive? Do you mean to say that you told them that I was DEAD?" Naomi demanded, worried.

_What will he think about me now? that I died so easily…_Naomi thought, worriedly. _I really need his help if I am to defeat Byakuran. Especially Byakuran…_ "I didn't tell. It wasn't me…" Irie said, putting up his hands to show surrender when he saw how angry Naomi looked. "Then…?" Naomi demanded. Irie gulped. _Naomi sure is fiercer since she came back from the dead…_ he thought. "It was Rokudo Mukuro. He was the one that felt like you had departed and told Reborn to call me to check on you. Indeed he was right…" Irie continued. _My…are all mist guardians going to be this scary? Naomi can come back from the dead while Mukuro can tell when someone has died! Creepy…_ Irie gulped.

"Mukuro-sama…" Naomi said softly. Irie looked at Naomi before speaking again. "It seems that everyone heard your voice when you died. What does that mean?" Irie asked Naomi. _They heard my…voice? The second that I died…hmm…_ "Oh yeah. I did say something the second that I died but I wasn't really there at the Vongola base. I don't know what happened…" Naomi said, surprised. _I wonder what Mukuro-sama knows about this…_

Irie nodded. "Let's get out of here…" he told Naomi. She smiled in return. "Hmm…there are a few secret passageways here. I'll show you the way. But you'll have to go by yourself. I have something to take care of first…" Irie said. "What do you mean?" Naomi asked, wondering what could possibly be more important than escaping at a time like this. Irie however did not either hear what she had said or was ignoring that question. Naomi shrugged. If Irie did not want to answer she wasn't going to question him further.

"I'm ready. Let's go!" Naomi said and smiled. Irie laughed, the thoughtful look gone for a second. "Then I'll shoe you the way. C'mon," he called to Naomi as he left the room. Naomi smiled. Irie took her through deserted corridors, leaving something behind on each security camera that they passed. Soon enough, Naomi reached a vent. "It's an air vent. It will take you to the Underground Namimori Shopping Mall's car park," Irie explained.

Naomi looked at the vent. It was quite small but big enough for her to fit through. "I think you had better go," Irie said to Naomi. Naomi nodded. She lifted the vent cover and slid into it. Irie heard footsteps. "Hurry!" he urged Naomi on. Naomi started crawling but not very fast as the vent was too tiny for her. Suddenly, Irie heard footsteps. He gulped and pushed Naomi forwards. Naomi also heard the sound and her face paled. She managed to get her whole body into the vent when the footsteps vanished. There was not a sound to be heard.

Naomi sighed in relief and Irie breathed out. He hadn't even realized that he was holding his breath until now. "Oh, Irie. What are you doing here? This place is off bounds. I always knew the white spell captain was up to no good. But Byakuran wouldn't listen to me. I guess that he soon figured out your scheme awhile ago though. I wonder why he hasn't told everyone to go after you yet," a voice said from above Irie. Irie gasped and looked up. Genkishi was on the ceiling.

He jumped down and stood in front of Irie. "Oh? Who is that girl in the vent? What is she trying to do? Climbing through vents is dangerous you know…" Genkishi said and approached Naomi. "Ah…So this must be Byakuran's little pet." He pulled Naomi out of the vent and held her, giving her no means of escape. "He was just using you. Didn't you realize that, naïve little girl?" Genkishi teased Naomi.

He took out his sword, meaning to slice Naomi in half with it. Raising it up in the air, he stopped as he heard a loud blast.. Irie gasped, looking around. Then their vision became obscured in a thick wall of dust. Irie coughed. Genkishi's sword was at Naomi's throat.

The dust cleared, revealing a large hole in the hallway. It also revealed something that made Naomi smile. _So mother was right. He does care…_

Standing in front of Naomi was the Vongola Decimo and a few of his guardians.


	23. Chapter 23 Ryohei vs Gamma

WARNING: This content may be more violent than the rest.

Hope you enjoy it!

"Naomi! Let HER GO!" Tsuna said angrily. He was in his hyper dying will mode. "Idiot! How dare you make the tenth worry!" Gokudera shouted and pointed his weapon at Genkishi. "Irie, are you okay?" Spanner shouted. He was standing with the Vongola Guardians.

"Yeah…" Irie mumbled and looked at Naomi. "Oh? You want this girl back, huh?" Genkishi shouted then laughed. "Well, you can have her!" he cried then threw Naomi against the wall, wounding her badly. Blood trickled down her skull. Naomi cried out in pain then lost consciousness. "Naomi!" Tsuna cried out and launched himself towards her.

Tsuna knelt down beside Naomi and took her head in his hands. "Naomi-chan…" he said softly as blood flowed onto his hand, turning it dark red in color. Tears were trickling down his cheeks. Genkishi laughed uncaringly. Tsuna got up, a dark look in his eye. "Baka! I'll make you pay for this! You will regret this! I promise it!" Tsuna cried out as he lunged for Genkishi. Genkishi chuckled and dodged. Tsuna's eyes got darker as he felt Naomi's life slipping away from him. "She just recovered…Why?...Why must she suffer so? Naomi…I would trade places with you if I could. I really would…" Tsuna said softly, his eyes darkening. He longed for revenge.

"Tsuna! Don't be an idiot! Look at Naomi! Do you think you can help her by getting all worked out like this? Sending her to the hospital bringing her back here would be a better option, don't you think so?" Reborn appeared on Tsuna's shoulder. He was a mere hologram because of the Non-7 Policy that Byakuran had released. Coming out of the Vongola hideout with the Non-7 Policy around would be certain death for him.

"Reborn…you're right. I should take her back to the Vongola hideout. Gokudera…" Tsuna said. "Yes! Tenth!" Gokudera said. "Cover me. Naomi needs help a.s.a.p," Tsuna said and prepared to leave. "Yes, Tenth!" Gokudera shouted and turned to face the now-gone Genkishi. "What the…" Gokudera muttered as he looked at empty air.

"Never take your eyes off your opponent…!" Genkishi cried out from above and proceeded to swing his sword at Tsuna. "As if I'll let you leave…" he muttered. "Bastard! Tenth!" Gokudera cried out. Tsuna looked up just as Genkishi swung his sword in one smooth motion.

It collided with another sword.

"Baka!" Genkishi cried out and jumped back. Yamamoto laughed. He had blocked Genkishi's attack with his sword. "Now, now. Isn't that a little bit unfair? You shouldn't play dirty you know," Yamamoto said while smiling. "Baseball-brain…" Gokudera muttered. "Genkishi….!" Tsuna was getting angry now. First he had attacked Naomi and now he was attacking his friends.

"Tsuna! You have to get back here…NOW! Naomi's condition cannot take any more of this stress. At this rate, she'll die! You don't want to be responsible for that, now do you?" Reborn demanded, seeing Tsuna hesitate. "Yeah…but…" Tsuna said, looking at Genkishi with hatred. "Tenth!" Tsuna turned around. "I'll take care of him. Don't worry! Just go! There's not much time!" Gokudera said, glancing at Naomi. "Tsuna! Since you're the fastest it only makes sense that you should go," Irie said. "Tsuna…COME NOW!" Reborn yelled at him and muttered under his breath, "Man I really wish that I was there now so as to kick some sense into Tsuna."

More blood kept leaking out onto Tsuna's hands. It dripped to the floor creating a bloody mess of that place. Tsuna nodded and got to his feet. In a second he was racing towards the Vongola hideout. "You're mine!" Gokudera said, turning back to Genkishi. Genkishi laughed. "With such weak strength you can never hope to defeat me," he teased. That made Gokudera angry. "We'll see who's laughing after this" he muttered.

"Spanner!" Reborn appeared beside Spanner. "Dame-Tsuna's gotten himself lost again. We need your help to get out of here. And Naomi's condition isn't getting any better than this. She was weak and the hit to her head hurt her more than it was supposed to," Reborn said, indicating that Tsuna was lost in that maze of a hideout. Spanner nodded.

"Don't worry. I'll take care of Tsuna. Bye Irie!" Spanner said and raced off to find Tsuna. "Think I'll just let you leave like that huh?" Genkishi screamed and proceeded to chase after Spanner. "Uh-uh. No can do" Yamamoto said, blocking Genkishi's path. "Little rascal!" Genkishi yelled at Yamamoto. He swung his sword at Yamamoto who blocked it with a swift movement of his sword. Genkishi frowned.

"Tsuna, Tsuna! Can you hear me? Where are you?" Spanner talked into his communicator. "Ah…Spanner. I'm lost in some sort of room and I'm not sure where I am." Tsuna replied. Spanner sighed and tracked Tsuna down by his headphones. He was stuck in some storeroom on the lowest floor of the Miliefiore base. "Dame-Tsuna…" Reborn sighed and said, "It may just cost someone's life if you keep at it." Spanner chuckled at Reborn's dark humor and raced to the room where Tsuna was in.

"You horrible rat! Die!" Genkishi yelled. Yamamoto smiled. "Well what can I say. The training with that kid was tough," he said and smiled. Genkishi frowned and lashed out another attack at Yamamoto who blocked it easily. Smirking Genkishi backed away and tore off down the hall. "Catch me if you can!" he snarled as he raced off into the distance.

"Coward," scoffed Yamamoto and took off after him. "Oi! Baseball-brain! What about me! That was supposed to be my fight!" Gokudera demanded. "Oh, sorry! Maybe next time!" Yamamoto called back as he too disappeared. He could no longer be seen but his voice still traveled down the hallway.

"Baka! Don't leave me here like that!" Gokudera yelled and proceeded to chase Yamamoto and Genkishi. "What about me? I wan an extreme fight too!" Ryohei shouted. The two of them tore down the hallway at top speed. "To the extreme!" Ryohei yelled.

They were gaining on Genkishi when Ryohei pulled Gokudera back. He had heard something buzzing. "Watch out!" he cried to Gokudera as he pulled him back. Gokudera turned on him and demanded, "Turf-top! What is your problem! We almost caught up with them and you pull me back?" he obviously hadn't heard anything at all.

A loud zap made Gokudera shut up. A lightning barrier that stretched on for meters ahead of them. _Hahaha…._ Gokudera gasped and looked up. _Nothing…._ "Your friend sure is a sharp one, indeed…" That voice stretched on throughout the whole hallway. Yamamoto and Genkishi were gone now. "Bastard! What do you want?" Gokudera shouted. Te laugh was heard again. "My, my. You talk so much…for a weakling," the voice said.

Someone appeared past the barrier. It was Gamma. "Your fight is with me…" he said and dropped the barrier. "You…" Gokudera muttered. He remembered when they had been sent to the future and he had lost to this lightning guy. "Fine!" Gokudera shouted. "Oh, so you are the child from that day…" Gamma looked curiously at Gokudera. "I am stronger now! Fight me and find that out for yourself!" Gokudera cried. Gamma smiled and nodded. "We shall see…"

"Come on into this room. The hallway has no place to fight at all…" Gamma scoffed and walked away. A door opened on his right and he entered. It was the Milifiore's training room. "Oi! Where are you going?" Gokudera demanded. There was no answer. Carefully, Gokudera and Ryohei entered the room. Gamma was already standing on top of one of the practice blocks. "Now…shall we start? I want to get this over with and get back to Uni already…" Gamma said.

"This is my fight, Gokudera. Stand back!" Ryohei ordered and stepped forward. "What….Who do you think you are?" Gokudera demanded. "It's my turn to fight, baka Turf-Top!" Gamma snickered at their bickering. "I see. I figured that you would say that so…" Ryohei said. A bright flash came from his hands as he turned to face Gokudera.

Gokudera was bound by something coated in sun-flames. "What the…Ryohei! What is your problem! Let me fight already!" Gokudera shouted. "Gomen nasai. But this opponent is too hard for you to fight. Remember the other day? You don't want that to happen again, now do you?" Ryohei asked Gokudera as he got ready for battle.

Gokudera sighed and watched Ryohei. "Besides, this fight will be over soon. After it's over, I'll release you so don't worry," Ryohei told Gokudera. Then he turned to Gamma. "Open box!" A kangaroo appeared out of his box. "Kangaryuu!" Ryohei shouted. The kangaroo roared and a bundle of sun flames shot out into Ryohei's hands. They were Sereno Gloves, gloves that gave incredible self-healing powers. Ryohei pulled them on and shouted to his box weapon again. "Kangaryuu!"

Two tiny bolts of pure sun-class flames shot out of Kangaryuu's pouch. It combined with Ryohei's feet, giving him extraordinary speed. Ryohei flew to where Gamma was. Gamma laughed. The two of them exchange a few blows, Ryohei getting shocked by Gamma's 'Shot Plasma' a few times. "This is the end!" Gamma shouted and attacked Ryohei with his billiard balls. Ryohei cried out loud and fell to the ground.

"Hmm… looks like he's rare-cooked," Gamma said and smiled. "Damn it! Bastard!" Gokudera shouted. "This is the only box that I can open. But you're my only hope that I have now. Come out!" Gokudera opened his box. Uri came out. "Meow!" he landed on Gokudera's head. "Uri! Cut through these ropes! You can do that can't you?" Gokudera cried out to Uri. Uri scratched his head and ignored Gokudera. "Hey! I'm talking to you! Don't ignore me!" Gokudera shouted. Uri got angry and started scratching Gokudera.

Then he ran off towards Gamma. "Hey! Uri! Where are you going? You don't mean to fight him, do you! No! you'll get yourself killed! Uri!" Gokudera shouted. Uri jumped at Gamma just as Gamma aimed his 'Shot Plasma' at Uri. A hand slapped Uri out of the way. It was Ryohei's hand. "Get down!" Ryohei shouted at Uri. Uri flew to where Kangaryuu was and lay there unconscious.

"High speed healing, complete!" Ryohei said. "Turf-top!" Gokudera yelled. "Wow…you're better than I thought, sun guardian. But you'd better give up. The difference between us is too great. For just one ring…" Gamma said. Gamma electrocuted Ryohei again. _Ahhhh!_ Ryohei cried out in pain. "Listen here, Gokudera. If he beats me, the ropes will come undone. You and I… we're both hot-headed. So don't panic," Ryohei turned to Gokudera and told him.

Gamma frowned and fired a shot at Ryohei. He cried out in pain. "Turf-top!" Gokudera yelled. "Now, just to make sure…" Gamma said and aimed another shot at Ryohei. Gokudera struggled with the ropes when he realized that they had come loose. A loud blast echoed around the room just as the 'Shot Plasma' was about to hit Ryohei. Then the smoke cleared to reveal a shield protecting Ryohei. Gokudera had come loose!


	24. Chapter 24 Sistema CAI

WARNING: Contains spoilers about Gokudera's fight with Gamma.

"Baka! How dare you attack lawn-head? You'll pay for this!" Gokudera cried out. "Hmm…do you want to be next, boy? It looks like you want another round of torture…" Gamma teased. "Bastard! Shut up! You're not the only one that has changed you know…" Gokudera said, an angry look on his face.

"Oh? Now you're making me curious. But your weapon is so useless in the hands of a weak person like you. That strange design…it must be an Innocenti original: he was the most artistic of all the three box designers. I know some of my customers would buy it at a really high price. Maybe this fight with you wouldn't be that useless after all…" Gamma said and aimed his billiard balls at Gokudera.

"Shot Plasma!" Gamma cried out as his billiard balls raced towards Gokudera. _Hmm…._ Gokudera frowned. He jumped onto his shield/box weapon and drew the fight away from Ryohei. "Oh? You're hovering to draw the fight away from the sun guardian? You'll die anyway…this fight is meaningless. Except for that Innocenti original, of course…" Gamma said and sighed.

"Distance to target: 3800. Temperature: 20 degrees, humidity: 55%, wind zero. Correction for gravity and magnetic field 0.012 …" Gokudera was calculating.

"Flame arrow!" Gokudera cried out and hit Gamma with his attack. "Impressive…" Gamma said. "But…" Gamma raised his electric shield, which had proven many times to be invincible. "Even with the storm degeneration attribute, lightning has the most solid flame of all the attribute. There's no way he'll be able to break through my barrier." Gamma was fully convinced.

But after a few moments, he realized that flames were penetrating through his shield. "What…how is this possible?" Gamma wondered and jumped out of the way. Gokudera snickered. "Don't think that you can escape!" Gokudera cried. "I'm not…" Gamma said simply. _**! **_Gokudera wondered. Gokudera fired his flame arrow at Gamma.

"I want to see it!" Gamma said and moved just an inch out of the way. "This flame…it's not just a storm flame…" _**! **_Another flame was aimed at Gamma. He jumped out of the way just in time. "Phew…that was close. I don't like unsolved puzzles. But I've seen through yours. I am truly surprised. How could you have used flames of both the rain and the storm attribute at the same time?" Gamma asked.

"More accurately, the surface of the storm flames were coated with rain flames. The tranquility of the rain flames caused the lightning barrier to weaken, and the storm flames degenerated the rest to get through. Your shield was the same. The synergy of the tranquility and the degeneration effects rendered my flames useless. Each ring emits flames of only one attribute, but there are individuals who have multiple wave energies sufficient enough to produce flames," Gamma explained to himself.

"Because of that, there are those who hold multiple rings and boxes. But to reach the level capable of using them in battle is very rare indeed. To say nothing of fusing two types of flames together, and producing them at the same time. That's completely unheard of," Gamma said. "Hey, are you that surprised? All my hard work paid off then," Gokudera said, remembering all the work that he had put into mastering that technique. "That's right. I had to realize that I could produce flames other than the storm attribute. That was the key to unlocking the Sistema C.A.I…" Gokudera muttered to himself.

_**In the Vongola Hideout…**_

"Darn it! I just don't get any of this! It was named Sistema C.A.I. there are 16 boxes in all. Out of those, I've only managed to open 4…On top of that, the weapons inside are completely dormant even when I charged them with flames…And one of them is completely useless," Gokudera muttered, indicating Uri who was playing nearby. "Who in the world puts a kitten in a box…Did my future self really figure this out? If I continue like this, I won't be able to beat Yamamoto, and I wont be able to be of any use to the boss…" Gokudera muttered and sighed, clutching his hair. He was getting more and more frustrated by every passing second.

Uri jumped onto the table. "Hey, you! Don't play with those weapons! They're not toys!" Gokudera cried out to Uri. Uri stopped for a second them jumped at Gokudera, attacking him. _**Shaa! Gwaah! **_"Damn it! I lost the fight…" Gokudera muttered, lying in his chair. _**!**_** "**Hey! There did this part come from? It looks like a ring though," Gokudera said, spotting something on the table. He picked it up and put it on his finger. "It's very faint, but it is a rain flame! Does this mean that I have the rain wave energy too?...?" Gokudera wondered.

He tried to open the other boxes and found that he could open four more. "But, again, these weapons are completely dormant…And there's still 9 more boxes that I can't open…" Gokudera sighed, thinking. _**Huh?**_ _Could it be that there's another ring hidden among these weapons too…?_ Gokudera wondered. _**Ah!**_ "Found it!" he exclaimed, holding up another ring.

_**Back at the Miliefiore base…**_

"In any case, your weapon looks like it's specialized in mid-ranged attacks. But now that I've figured out your trick, do you think you can hit me again?" Gamma asked. "Shall we see?" Gokudera challenged. _It's rain coated again? I'd better dodge it…_Gamma thought. rocket bombs fired out of Gokudera's box weapon. "What the hell! What's this irregular acceleration." _**!**_ _This unusual flame output is…the sun's activation factor! This is bad…_ Gamma thought.

Gokudera snickered. "If it were simply storm and rain, that would just be too easy. The Sistema C.A.I consists of multiple rings of different attributes and multiple boxes to be opened in a prescribed order. Otherwise, it can't be opened up. And to be able to use Sistema C.A.I…I must have 5 wave energies coursing through me!"

Gamma snickered. Gokudera and Gamma exchanged a few blows, none hitting the other. They were both just too good. "Using multiple flames…You managed to surprise me, school boy. But it's time for you to say bye! Forever…that is," Gamma said. Gokudera snickered. "Go ahead and try," he challenged. "Don't get cocky now…" Gamma said, "ELECTRO VOLPI!" "Those things again…" Gokudera sighed.

_Even if he's able to use multiple flames, his weapon is a typical mid-range weapon. That means that his weakness is…close quarters combat! _Gamma thought and attacked Gokudera. Gokudera launched his rocket bombs but Gamma dodged them all. "Since I know the characteristics of all your bullets, you won't be able to hit me so easily. Time to tuck you in!" Gamma said, charging forwards.

"You wish." _**?**_ Gamma turned around. His two foxes were trapped in Gokudera's shield. "What?" "I can see all your cards!" Gokudera cried out. "Ah…but I'm free. Those blunt bullets of yours can't hit me. You're mine!" Gamma shouted, attacking Gokudera. "You think?" Gokudera demanded. He fired a shot at Gamma. _**Cloud attribute propagation! **_

Multiple shots were fired at Gamma all at once. "Sistema C.A.I means Cambio Arma Instantaneo, that is, an instantaneous armament change system. Looks like I still can't switch the bullets attributes instantaneously though. That should have struck pretty hard," Gokudera said.

Gamma was resting behind a practice block. "How did I get this pathetic? He is just a kid. I can't just drop and die here…" Gamma said, taking out his last resort of a box weapon. 

_**Gamma's past…**_

"What do you want to talk about?" Gamma asked Genkishi. "This…" Genkishi held up a box. "That box! Why is it with you?" Gamma demanded, "Genkishi, you! Depending on your answer, I might just kill you!" Gamma said enraged. "Listen, Gamma. You of all people should know what this means…Once this box is handed over to you, you will understand the message that comes with it. That's what she said," Genkishi said. "What do you mean?" "Yes. It is what you think I mean. Our boss…" Genkishi said. "You…you don't mean…" Gamma said. "The time has come to return this to you, Lady Uni said," Genkishi explained, "Use it or not, that's up to you."

_**Back to the present…**_

"It's you! I doubted that you'd be defeated so easily!" Gokudera cried out, "Eat this!" He fired his attack at Gamma. _He's gone…?_ Gamma reappeared in the air with two black foxes beside him. "What the hell!" Gokudera demanded. "It's all over…" Gamma said.

Gamma attacked Gokudera. "You managed to survive that?" he asked him. His attack had penetrated Gokudera's shield. "What the hell was that?" Gokudera demanded. "This is an update box. When opened, it gives immense power to the Volpi, turning them into Nero Volpi," Gamma explained. "A power up?" Gokudera wondered. "Strictly speaking, it's not a increase in power. Rather, the power which has been taken from them is now being returned once again," Gamma said. "I'd never thought that I'd see their perfected forms so soon," Gamma smiled. "I was just careless that's all! It won't happen again! Eat this!" Gokudera cried out and attacked Gamma.

The two foxes moved in front of Gamma. "There's no need to block it," Gamma said. "Come on, what are you going to do?" Gamma teased. His two Volpi began charging at Gokudera with him following suit. "Then, in that case…I'm going to finish this with my most powerful strike. Storm plus…" Gokudera said. _**Flame thunder!**_ Gokudera pointed his weapon at the Nero Volpi. The two box weapons collided with a loud blast.

Just as Gokudera was attacking Gamma, one of the Nero Volpi snuck in from the side and charged at Gokudera, rending him defenseless. "What the…?" Gokudera muttered, looking shocked for a moment. He used his shield to block the attack. The Nero Volpi collided with the shield, slowly destroying it.

Gamma smirked, standing on top of one of the training blocks. "Well…I could explain the Nero Volpi's powers one by one but…Ultimately, the difference between you and me can be summed up in one point," Gamma said. _**!**_ "Your ring is the same as my mare ring. Both are one facet of the 7-3. Yours is the Vongola Ring. If your box weapon is an Innocenti Original, then it is in no way inferior to my Nero Volpi. Since our box weapons are evenly matched, why do you think there's such a big difference between the power of our flames? The difference is our resolution," Gamma said, slowly, thinking.

"Wait…WHAT THE **** DID YOU SAY!" Gokudera demanded. Gamma smirked. A loud whizzing sound was heard from above Gokudera. He stood up and realized that the two Nero Volpi were charging straight at him! They hit him straight-on. Gokudera cried out in pain. His whole body was bleeding and he was coughing out blood. He fell to the ground, his legs weak.

The two Nero Volpi returned to their master Gamma. He smirked. "What did you expect from a kid's resolution? Kids your age get intoxicated with words. Flaunting your glorious words is not the same thing as true, unwavering resolution…" Gamma said, thinking.

"****…." Gokudera cursed, unable to get up anymore. Gamma smiled. "Now, go have some fun," he told his foxes. Suddenly, they became agitated. _**!**_ "What is it?**" **Gamma asked. _They're alarmed? _He wondered. "What's that…?" Gokudera muttered. _What's that growling sound? _Gamma wondered.

The sound came from Kangaryuu. There was smoke coming out from Kangaryuu's pouch. _The sun box's weapon? But, it should've been beaten down already. _Gamma thought. _This sounds like Uri. But, no…this doesn't sound like a kitten…_Gokudera wondered. _He was flung towards the kangaroo earlier…he was flung! _ A wide blast came fro the kangaroo's pouch. _**…!**_"Shut that thing up," Gamma said. _**Gaaa…**_Uri's head could be seen popping out of the pouch. Then a bright yellow light surrounded the Kangaryuu. Gokudera smiled. Gamma looked shocked.

For standing in front of Gokudera was a very, very big cat. _**…**_"You're Uri?" Gokudera asked, surprised.


	25. Chapter 25 The Gesso and Giglio Nero

Disclaimer: This chapter was mainly taken from chapter 195 to 196.

WARNNG: Contains Spoilers

Note: Sorry for the slow story but my story runs along the same plot as the original.

Gokudera gasped. "Are…are you Uri?" he asked the giant cat in front of him. The cat turned around to look at Gokudera and put his lace so close to him. Then he stuffed him paw into Gokudera's face. _**….=.= **_ "Gwaah! Don't step on me with your claws!" Gokudera yelled as Uri put hi paw on Gokudera's back. _Wait…this contempt attitude towards me…there's no mistaking it. _"You're Uri!" Gokudera cried out at the cat.

The hackles on Nero Volpi rose as they growled at the newcomer. Gamma shrugged and nodded. The Nero Volpi charged at Gokudera creating an electric field to kill him. _What…what's with that flame? He still had some power in reserve? What? _ Uri had stepped in front of Gokudera, shielding him from the Nero Volpis. "Uri?" _**Grrrr **_ "Did…did you come here to protect me?" Gokudera asked.

Uri growled again and started charging at the Nero Volpis. "Oi, Uri!" Gokudera yelled. Gamma smirked. "Disappear." The Nero Volpis charged at Uri who in turn charged right back at them. Uri roared. A loud blast sounded as they collided. Uri landed on the nearest training block. The Nero Volpis landed opposite if him. Storm flames were emitting from Uri's body while the Nero Volpis were completely surrounded in electric flames.

"Uri!" Gokudera yelled, alarmed. Gamma smiled. _**Gyaaa!**_One of the Nero Volpis exploded, leaving blood everywhere. "What?" Gamma looked shocked. "This…this…" Gokudera muttered. "This is grown up Uri's power! I always thought that he was nothing but a little kitten. That he was a useless weapon…But Uri is part of the Sistema C.A.I after all…Lawn head…he knew that this would happen…" Gokudera said softly, turning to look at Ryohei.

"Heh. I took your alley cat's lucky punch a little too lightly, eh?" Gamma said, looking down at Gokudera from one of the training blocks. He had restored the other Nero Volpi that had exploded back to life. "Oi." Gokudera stood up. "I've had enough of you. Take your resolution crap and shove it!" he shouted at Gamma. _**!**_ Gamma looked at Gokudera, shocked. "Uri is one of my box weapons too. Now, let me show you the full power of my C.A.I…" Gokudera said, carrying Uri on his back. "No…our resolution! Don't underestimate the Vongola!" Gokudera yelled.

"Oh? There you go again with one of your pointless outbursts. But I already said this once. You won't defeat me just by acting cool." Gamma said, smirking. "That's our line," Gokudera replied, setting Uri down beside him. Uri stood up and roared. The Nero Volpis became alert and his hair rose as he growled. _**Now!**_ Uri jumped and landed to where Gamma was. The foxes immediately began to be wary of the big cat and growled. Gamma jumped of, leaving his Nero Volpis to fend for itself against Uri. "Hm. I'll leave them to you then, Uri!" Gokudera said, turning his attention to Gamma.

Uri launched an attack, throwing one fox off the block and sent him flying. Gamma instantly turned to look at his box weapon but when he did that, a storm flame came bursting towards him, narrowly missing him. "Che! They split up to attack!" Gamma said, dodging the attack, annoyed. Gokudera smiled. "Let me show you the fighting style of the Vongola storm guardian!" Gokudera yelled and blasted Gamma with his flame arrow. Gamma used his ring to block the attack. A loud blast echoed around the room.

Gokudera smiled. "To be the nucleus that attack restlessly…" Gokudera said, aiming at Gamma, just as Uri blasted off another Nero Volpi attack. "Never resting…" Gokudera said as he fired his shot. "THE RAGING TEMPEST!"

Gamma smirked as he dodged Gokudera's attack and trapped him in his own. "I'll remember that. Now die!" he cried out, aiming his Shot Plasma at Gokudera. _**?**_

_He's gone?_ Gamma thought as the smoke disappeared. _**!**_ Gokudera slid under Gamma. _Below?_ "That'd be you," Gokudera said as he fired his shot. **Boom!** Gokudera used the cloud flame for this attack, multiplying his shots. _**Gahhh! **_Gamma cried out in pain. Blood spurted out from his body. "No…not yet. I can't die. Not now…" Gamma whispered to himself. _Princess…._

_**A memory surfaces in Gamma's mind, of Uni and his past…! **_

"Gamma and Tazaru! You're okay?" people dressed in black shouted to Gamma and Tazaru who had just come in on a horse. They were badly wounded. "Aniki!" a man ran up to Tazaru and took him into the house. "Tazaru sustained some injury. Lease look after him," Gamma said. "How about the enemy? Where's the Gesso party!" one man shouted. "Somehow we managed to shake them off. They won't follow us here" Gamma said. "As expected from you guys," another man replied. "How's the boss's condition?" Gamma asked, worried. "Well…that's…." nobody wanted to reply him.

_**!**_ "WHERE'S THE BOSS!" Gamma demanded, charging into the house. "It was a trap. Thanks for everything, Gamma," Genkishi said. He was the only other person in the room other than Gamma. "How about the boss?" Gamma asked, anxiously. "The boss couldn't win against the illness," Genkishi said. _**….!**_ "Is she in the back room?" Gamma asked. "Yeah…" Gamma rushed to the room and opened the door quietly.

The female boss lay in the bed, her eyes closed. She was smiling. But Gamma knew that she was dead. "It really is like the boss said…She was still so lively the day before she died. This…I can't believe this. To protect the boss…is the subordinates duty. I promised to protect her. This is all my fault…" Gamma said, kneeling before the boss.

"That's not true, Gamma," a voice said. _**!**_ "Welcome back!" a small girl, about the age of 10 smiled at Gamma. "Who…Who are you!" Gamma demanded, surprised. The girl smiled at him. "Nice to meet you. I'm Uni," the little girl replied. "Uni? Oi! That's the necklace that the boss wore! What are you doing with it?" Gamma demanded when he saw the orange pacifier on Uni's neck. "My mother gave it to me," the little girl replied.

"Mother? What are you saying?" Gamma asked, shocked. "Uni-sama is the boss's daughter." Genkishi had came into the room without Gamma noticing. _**!**_ "WH-WHAT!" Gamma demanded. "Among us nobody knows it. But she is the only successor with the boss's DNA and blood," Genkishi explained. "No…No way! For the boss to have a child…" Gamma gasped. "The boss didn't tell anyone. She also hid the fact that she was a mafia boss from Uni-sama. So basically, she's just a regular person. But according to the law, if we don't make her the new boss…" Genkishi said and was interrupted by Gamma. "ARE YOU KIDDING ME!" Gamma yelled. "LIKE I'D EVER BELIEVE THIS STORY! THIS IS ALL A LIE! FIRST OF ALL,MY ONLY BOSS IS THIS WOMAN!" Gamma yelled, enraged.

"Gamma." Gamma stopped and looked at Uni angrily. "Mother knew that it would be like this. She doesn't blame you at all," Uni said, softly. She was smiling. "WHAT ARE YOU SAYING? WHAT'S SO FUNNY!" Gamma shouted at Uni. "If you really are her daughter…how…HOW CAN YOU SMILE AT HER DEATHBED! IT'S HORRID! JUST LOOKING AT YOU MAKES ME SICK. GET OUT OF THE ROOM!" Gamma yelled and grabbed Uni's hand.

"Gamma!" Genkishi made a move to stop him with his hand. _**Ah!**_Uni looked down at the ground. Her hat flew off, revealing pale-blue hair cut to medium length. _**!**_ "The sleeve…it's wet."

_**In the past…**_

"What do you want to talk about Gamma? Sorry, but I just don't feel like fooling around today," Aria said on the balcony. "I know…" Gamma replied. "You've been crying, haven't you? That victim was not your fault," Gamma said slowly. They were looking down from the balcony. "No, I haven't been crying," Aria said, trying to deny it. Gamma smiled at her. "If you're trying to hide it, it's no use. Your sleeve is wet," Gamma said, turning to look at her. "You've been here everyday. What happened?" Gamma asked, seeing the shocked expression on Aria's face as she pulled her hand away.

"I don't believe it but it's been passed on for generations…it seems that my blood is cursed. My dead mother was the same. But mother told me this…No matter what you see…If you want to make your surroundings happy…please laugh," Aria said, smiling at Gamma. In the moonlight her face looked really pretty as she smiled.

_**Back in the house…**_

"It's the same…" Gamma muttered to himself. _**!**_ _The warm orange light too…Boss…inside this child, you are…alive. _Uni looked up at Gamma just as he thought that and smiled. "My heart…you can read it?" Gamma asked. The child smiled and nodded. Gamma then bowed down to Uni. _**!**_ Genkishi was surprised at Gamma's reaction. "Forgive my impoliteness I will protect you with my life," Gamma said, returning Uni's hat to her.

_**Back at the Millifiore base…**_

"Ugh. Baka," Gokudera stared at Gamma. Gamma was dripping blood everywhere. "You Vongola. Though you're scum, we share a likeness. To defeat Byakuran…" Gamma said. "What! Byakuran…he's you're boss right?" Gokudera asked, clearly shocked. "Ugh…yeah. That's right. You come from ma time before we Miliefiore made this abominable formation," Gamma said. "Abominable formation?" Gokudera asked.

"_**3 months after the princess became our boss…"**_

"The phantom knight has been defeated! Quick, the tanker!" one man shouted. "These injuries…are horrible! Who was it? Was it Byakuran! Were you defeated by the Gesso family?" Gamma asked. "N-o…" Genkishi said. "The bargaining with the Gesso family failed. We didn't want the Gesso to invade us. The condition was that if we killed a certain swordsman, they wouldn't touch us for 5 years…" Genkishi said.

"What? Why didn't you tell me until now!" Gamma demanded. "We had a chance of winning…Plus…I told Uni-sama who started the dispute… opposition was inevitable and I would settle the problem myself," Genkishi said. "YOU MORON!" Gamma yelled at Genkishi. "Phantom Knight!" Uni cried out and came running to see to him. "Princess…" Gamma said softly. "I'm sorry…" Genkishi said. "Don't talk anymore. Your wounds are bad," Uni said, kneeling down beside Genkishi. "And I understand your feelings." _**!**_

"I'm going…" Uni said. "W-Where!" Gamma asked. "The Gesso family hideout, of course," Uni replied. "WHAT!" Gamma demanded. "I'm going to meet Byakuran for a talk, to prevent any more victims." Uni said sadly. She was no longer smiling. "That's what Byakuran wants! This is too much pressure! He's just trying to test us!" Gamma yelled. The princess had started to walk away when she stopped and turned around. She was smiling. "It's okay."

She had walked into the house when Gamma came running after her. "Princess! Please reconsider! They're out to plunder us! They'll kill us and take our rings and boxes. Try and win us some more time. Surely an ally family who thinks the same will appear!" Gamma ran up the stairs, wanting to stop the princess. "By then it will be too late. I sense a powerful force from Byakuran. No one…but me will be able to stop him," Uni said and turned around. She was smiling.

The Giglio Nero escorted Uni to the Gesso's hideout. "We've reached the Gesso hideout," Gamma told Uni and opened the door for her. "Princess…is this really okay?" "Yes…" Uni stepped out from the limousine. They headed into the building. "We've been expecting you. We'll guide you to the guest room on the 10th floor.

"I've over-eaten again. 2 plates was too much." A man was standing outside a door. His hair was white. "You're Byakuran, right?" Uni asked. "Hmm…?" Byakuran turned around. "Uhhh. Who is this again? Like I could know…we've never seen or met each other before. Ah…that's right. Uni-chan!" Byakuran smiled at Uni. Instantly, Gamma and the other 3 bodyguards surrounded Uni, blocking Uni from view.

"I thought there might be a baby coming. But you're far more charming than I'd imagined. You're more…" Byakuran said. "Ordinary than I'd imagined," Uni said finishing his sentence for him. Byakuran smiled. "Nicely said. You're escort wielders of the mare rings you Giglio Nero are so boastful of. How nice. I'm so jealous. Though we seem to be missing someone today…" "The mist wielder was defeated by the Varia's Swordsman, according to someone's trap," Gamma said and looked away, annoyed. "Hm-? Surely protecting that mare ring, one of the 7-3's pieces, was an order from your family, right, Uni-chan?" Byakuran miled and turned to Uni. Uni frowned at him.

"But standing while talking makes it hard to talk. If we could see each other in private…" Byakuran said. "You bastard…that's…" Gamma said, shielding Uni with his hand. "Okay," Uni said, her voice high in that place. _**!**_ "Princess!" Gamma shouted. Uni grabbed Gamma's sleeve. "Look into my eyes. Do you see any recklessness?" Uni asked as Gamma knelt down beside her. "Princess…?" _Could it be that she already knows? The outcome of the meeting with Byakuran…? _Gamma thought. Uni smiled at Gamma.

She threw her hands around Gamma's neck and hugged him. "I'm going. Thank you, Gamma. About you…I…" she whispered something into Gamma's ear then ran off. She was blushing and smiling at the same time. Gamma smiled. "Little lady…" he muttered.

"What's up?" one bodyguard asked the other while Uni was in the room. "Uni-sama's blood pressure and pulse didn't have any abnormalities," one of the bodyguards said. "Great, keep going." "But Uni-sama sure is a wondrous child." "It feels like she's been in our family since forever. Because she looks just like the previous bosses. That smiling face shows her heart." "Yeah, our only remaining light." "Don't say such stupid things, you bunch of lolicons," Gamma interrupted them. "Wha-?" "Like you're not the most suspicious one here!" _I've been in an unrequited love situation since her ancestors. And to me…that girl is too dazzling…_

The door swung open and Byakuran and Uni stepped out. "Bye, Uni-chan!" Byakuran said. Uni nodded. "Princess!" Gamma sighed in relief. "You're alright!" "I'm so relieved." All the bodyguards were smiling, happy to have their princess back. "Everybody, listen to me…" Uni said. Her voice was different somehow…not so cheerful anymore. "Our Giglio Nero family and the Gesso family are merging…" Uni said. She was no longer smiling. "After the merge, the parent body will be the Gesso family and the boss will be Byakuran-sama…" Uni said this like she was in some sort of trance. "Princess! What are you saying?" Gamma shouted and put his hand on her shoulder

The princess smacked it off. _**! **_ "Don't touch me so easily," she sai, not even looking at Gamma. _**!**_ "After the merge I will be number 2. only Byakuran-sama can touch me," Uni said, looking at Gamma. _There eyes…the princess…isn't there!_ "BYAKURAN! WHAT DID YOU DO TO UNI-SAMA!" Gamma demanded. "Hm…I wonder what?" Byakuran's face was smiling as he turned to look back. "BASTARD!" Gamma yelled and opened his box weapons. His two Nero Volpis came out and began to fling themselves at Byakuran.

_**! **_ Uni had placed herself in front of the Nero Volpis. "If you want to lay a finger on Byakuran-sama, you'll have to kill me first," Uni said. "Princess!" Gamma yelled. The princess just stared back determinedly at him. Gamma stood there, shocked but he didn't call back his box weapons. They were just inches away from hurting Uni. "D-DON'T!" "STOP IT GAMMA!" His comrades tried to hold him back. "HEY, PRINCESS!" Gamma yelled helplessly. Byakuran smiled and whistled. The princess just stared back at him. "NOOOOOO! BYAKURANNN!" Gamma yelled as he wrestled with his comrades to get free. He was intent on killing Byakuran for what he did to Uni.

_**In the Millefiore base…**_

"It's time for the signing of the deal," Gamma said and knelt down before the princess. "But before that time…I want to return this." The princess just looked at him. "For the sake of the Giglio Nero family…your mother gave me this box. I don't intend to use it for the Millefiore. Until a time when I can use it for the Giglio Nero's sake comes around again, I want you to hold on to it," Gamma said, handing the box over to Uni. Uni just looked at him blankly. "I believe that time will definitely come."

_**Back to the fight with Gokudera…**_

"Uh…uh…" Gamma said, panting. Gokudera just stared at him. "Sometimes I just don't get what you guys are on about. Isn't Byakuran your comrade?" Gokudera demanded. Gamma scoffed. "Eh…Comrade? The Millefiore has many comrades right? Among those that wear the very same black clothes as myself some are not our comrades," Gamma said. _**! **__Among the black spell?_ Gokudera thought. "They are scum who sold out our family to the White Spell. Among them, the most violent one is Genkishi…" Gamma said with a sad look in his eyes.


	26. Chapter 26 Yamamoto vs The Phantom Knigh

"Meanwhile, Yamamoto was chasing after Genkishi and found himself in a dead end. It was full of pipes and there was hardly any space to move. Sighing, Yamamoto looked around for Genkishi. He had lost sight of him and was searching for him. A voice snickered. It was somewhere in front. Yamamoto walked slowly. There was a wall ahead of him. But as he moved nearer, the wall moved, revealing a door. And behind that door…was the Phantom Knight.

"**Phantom Knight…He's the Giglio Nero Family's biggest traitor. I'll admit that he's this time period's greatest swordsman…" **_The man who is praised as the worst stands in his way…!_

_This guy! _Yamamoto thought, becoming alert. Genkishi wasn't smiling anymore. He looked fierce…determined. Like he was set on doing something. "I've been waiting," Genkishi told Yamamoto. Yamamoto frowned, focused and drew out his sword. "are you the holder of the mist mare ring…Genkishi?" Yamamoto asked. _**!**_ "As I thought…" Yamamoto said and prepared for battle. Then he glanced down at his feet. _**Water?**_ Genkishi frowned. "How do you know me?" he asked Yamamoto. Yamamoto smiled. "I saw you on Squalo's DVD. You are the 100th opponent in the "The path to be the emperor of the sword" 100 matches right?" Yamamoto asked.

"Did you have some kind of agreement with the 2nd greatest swordsman of this time?" Genkishi asked, looking uninterested. "Yeah," Yamamoto said, smiling. "Ah, that's right. I allowed myself to be defeated by that guy…to aid the formation of the Miliefiore," Genkishi said, thinking. _**?**_ "You lost to Squalo on purpose? What…what are you saying?" Yamamoto asked, somewhat backing away. _**Swt =.= **_ "Squalo and the others are not my enemies. To achieve my goals however I had to humiliate myself by pretending to lose to him," Genkishi said, softly.

"Ah! So you don't except that you lost!' Yamamoto accused. Genkishi sighed. "I have evened the odds for you in two ways. The first is the advantage of this area…" Genkishi said. _**?**_ "This is artificial rain, suited to your rain attribute. And the other…I will fight you with my bare hands," Genkishi said, pulling on his gloves. "Wha… You won't use a sword!" Yamamoto asked. He was sweating now. "This is out of respect. As one of the Vongola guardians you must hold a name in regards to tradition and social status. Also for my, actions to be regarded as fighting and not just merely killing, I must place some shackles over myself," Genkishi said, frowning. _**? **_"So, I'm being looked down on then," Yamamoto smiled.

"Come…" Genkishi said. He looked frightening as a bright flame surrounded him. _This killer intent…it hurts me even more than…Reborn's. this guy…is a real killer…_Yamamoto thought. "I'm in trouble…" he whispered to himself. "Are you scared now?" Genkishi asked Yamamoto. Yamamoto smiled. "Nope. I'm just shivering a little," he answered. "I'm going to fight you…as a swordsman. Even if you don't want it…I will make you draw your sword…" Yamamoto drew his sword and opened his box weapon. "With this Shigure Souen style of mine!" he shouted. "Talking is useless…" Genkishi said, not moving.

"That is…after I use this attack!" _**Shigure Souen Style's First form Of Attack. **_Yamamoto charged at Genkishi. _**Axle Of Rain. **_"Such a huge thrust…" _**!**_ "But it's the same childish attack as Squalo's…" Genkishi had split into two. They both thrust their swords intoYamamoto at the same time. _**Gah! **_"How can there be two same Genkishi's!"

_**!**_ Yamamoto was made out of water. _**?**_ Suddenly, a pillar of water shot out from where Yamamoto's clone was standing. _A reflection of water?_ _**Shigure Souen Style Ninth Offensive form…**_ _**!**_ Yamamoto came jumping out from the water, sword in hand. With a swift motion of his arm, he used a crescent shaped attack. Genkishi jumped back, narrowly avoiding his attack. _**From the duplicate rain to the second offensive form…**_ Yamamoto raised a wall of water between himself and Genkishi. _**Surging Downpour…**_ _**From the surging downpour to the eleventh offensive form…! Scontro Di Rodine!**_ Yamamoto charged at Genkishi.

_**! **_Just as Yamamoto swung the final blow, Genkishi blocked it with his sword, sending Yamamoto flying backwards. He landed swiftly on the ground, sword in hand. Yamamoto smiled. "Now I know why they call you Genkishi, the phantom knight. But you know, I got you to draw your sword," he said. Genkishi stood up straight. "Very well…but you shall regret it!" He went charging at Yamamoto with his sword. Yamamoto smiled happily [does he want to die?] and said, "Now we're talking!"

Genkishi changed into water and some sort of misty solution. _Is this another illusion? _Yamamoto wondered and jumped back just as the sword hit his. _Where's the real him? _Yamamoto wondered, thinking. Genkishi appeared behind him as Yamamoto spun around to face him. Genkishi was using that technique of his, the four swords. _**Fifth offensive form! Summer rain! **_Yamamoto thought as he sliced clean through genkishi. Genkishi turned into water. _An illusion! Where is he? __**! **_

Genkishi appeared form above, four swords in hand. _From above? Crap…_Genkishi striked, hitting Yamamoto against the wall and hurting him. Is clothes were in tatters. _That was close…_ he thought as he gripped his sword tightly. _**My Shigure Kintoki! **_ Yamamoto cried out as he glanced down at his sword. Is had cracks all over it. Gekishi stood a distance away from him. "Now, the chances of you winning this fight has gone from slim to none…" Yamamoto stared at Genkishi in anger. Genkishi turned to face him. "I am on a totally different dimension than you Vongola swordsmen. Squalo is no exception." He had a sad look in his eyes as he said this. "In my fight with him, I had to fake a convincing defeat. That's possible only because my sword skills are far superior to his."

Genkishi frowned. "Are you ready?" he said as he drew his sword and turned to face Yamamoto at the same time._ This is fear! _Yamamoto thought. _Gyaa…_

_**In the fight between Squalo and Genkishi…**_

"You won again! That makes 80 consecutive victories!" Lussuria cried out in that girly voice of his while holding up a sign that said, "Making of a Sword Emperor". "Listen up." Squalo's tone had an unmistakably power in it. "When you aim for the top, you will sometimes face an opponent who can frighten you to the core of your being." His face was expressionless.

"To think you're afraid is not a bad thing, rather it's an essential ability that lets you sense that your life is in danger. It would be wise to choose not to fight with such an opponent." Squalo's voice was strong, yet soft at the same time. Eh was looking at the ground…as if talking to himself. "Wait, Squalo, who are you talking to?" Lussuria, as usual, had to interrupt Squalo in his train of thoughts with that girly voice of his [sorry to all Lussuria fans!]

"But…As a swordsman there are also fights which we cannot avoid. When such a time comes, do you know what you have to do?" Squalo was holding an expression of annoyance and anger. His words were directed at the person watching the tape, namely Yamamoto.

"Squalo! Who are you talking to?" Lussuria demanded. He sounded like such a girl which made Squalo angry. The veins on his temple looked like they were going to burst. "SHUT UP! THERE'S NOTHING TO GAIN IN A DEFEAT!" he shouted so loud that Lussuria became scared. "Only victory has its rewards. Wasn't it the same for that ring!" Squalo turned to directly ace the camera. His eyes burned deeply into Yamamoto's who was watching it.

_Haha! _Yamamoto laughed. _So all that I have to do is win!_

_**Back in the present…**_

"What an ugly sight. Do you still struggle?" Genkishi said, not bothering to face Yamamoto. Yamamamoto smiled as he got up. "Yeah. Sorry, but you know. I just remembered. The Shigure Souen Style is absolutely the strongest and most invincible style." He held the sword in his hand, ready.

"What nonsense…" Genkishi said. "And, another thing about Squalo…He's a lot more incredible than you think. I've just got it all figured out. Squalo used his victory to show me a hint to defeating you." The look on Genkishi's face was one of shock. Yamamoto smiled. "The Second Sword Emperor has seen through you. The fact that you lost to him on purpose!"


	27. Last chapter: NaomiByakuranYuniGamma

Okay…so guys…this is the final chapter of my story…since the middle part is actually based on the main storyline with a little edits I won't write it out…who would bother to read it anyway? So…this is the last chapter…it starts from when Yuni gets ready to sacrifice her life to rebirth the rest of the arcobalenos.(with a little alteration of course) Before that, Naomi had followed Tsuna and the rest of the guardians to what would be the final showdown between Tsuna and Byakuran. Hope you enjoy it! Sorry for the very, very late update…had no ideas and had a major exam coming up! Sorry!

* * *

_**I won't let you go this time too…let me follow you…**_

The voice was echoing around the enclosed dome. A man emerged from the smoke that was used to blow a hole in the dome. Yuni's eyes were full of water when she saw who it was.

The man standing there was Gamma…

Naomi gasped. She stared at Gamma and Yuni.

_Is this the moment that you and father will die, mother? I am not prepared…what should I do? I'm scared…_

Gamma approached Yuni. He hugged her close. "I'll be with you, forever. I will not be left behind again…" he whispered into Yuni's ear.

Yuni smiled and nodded. Tears were streaming uncontrollably down her cheeks now. her small face looked tender and delicate when the sun shone on it. She buried her face in Gamma's chest.

Gamma smiled. "Use my life, princess. I love you. Not as a child…but the same way that I loved your mother…" Gamma said. He was crying too. Tears dripped onto the floor. Yuni smiled.

"Thank you, Gamma. I love you too…" Yuni whispered. She hugged the arcobaleno pacifiers close. They were moving a little now. small things stuck out of the pacifiers.

"Yuni-chan!" Haru cried out. She was crying too. "Yuni-chan…" Kyoko whispered as tears ran down her cheeks. Yuni smiled at the both of them then turned back to Gamma.

"_**Let's go…" **_

Naomi's heart beat faster ever second.

_MOTHER! DON'T LEAVE ME ALONE HERE! PLEASE! _

Her heart cried out. Then she gasped. A bright orange light came from her chest.

_Huh? What is this?_

All heads turned to look at Naomi. Naomi blinked. Her orange pacifier was glowing. And glowing very brightly it was indeed.

_But…why? Mother isn't dead yet. Did something that wasn't supposed to happen…happen? _

The orange pacifier lifted itself into the sky, still held on by the string around Naomi's neck. the glow grew even brighter and created a bubble of light with Naomi in it. Slowly, it solidified.

The globe of light brought Naomi off the ground to join the rest of the family…the sea, the shellfish and the rainbow…just like in Yuni's story.

_Something is wrong with mother. It just doesn't make sense…she shouldn't know who I am. But why? Why is something that shouldn't be ther…there?_

Naomi thought as she looked closely at her mother's face.

Then she realized that what wasn't there…was there…

_**A smile was tugging at the corners of Yuni's mouth. **_

It was as if she knew that this would happen…all along… There wasn't even a tint of surprise on Yuni's face. In fact… Yuni looked like she was welcoming Naomi.

Slowly and gently, Naomi's feet touched the ground where Yuni was. The globe around her disappeared in a burst of light but her pacifier remained brightly glowing.

Gamma was staring at her. In fact, everyone was staring at her, even Byakuran. Naomi blushed at the sudden attention. Her gaze flitted to Byakuran then to Gamma.

"Do you…know who I am?"

Gamma stared at her for a second then shook his head. He turned his head to look at Yuni and was obviously surprised by her reaction.

Yuni was smiling happily at Naomi.

"I do know…bits and pieces of it. You are not of this world, right, Naomi-chan? Or should I say…my daughter."

Gasps could be heard from everyone around them. Even Byakuran looked shocked.

Gamma stared at Yuni. His mouth shaped unspoken words but Yuni already knew what he was going to ask.

She hugged Gamma like a child and whispered.

"With you, my darling. She is our child. In another parallel universe…where I have grown up…I brought her here, Gamma. I wanted to safe her life. The other me is waiting for us to come. For us to join and become one…they are waiting happily for the day that we may all join to become one together. Naomi's destiny is bright, my love. As for us…my other self is waiting for us to join her…in heaven…"

A look of understanding dawned on Gamma's face as he hugged Yuni back. Then he turned to Naomi.

"My child, although I did not know you before…some part of me felt connected to you. Like you were family. I could not explain this feeling before. But now I know why…"

He smiled and embraced Naomi. Naomi cried tears of sad joy and hugged him back.

A chuckle spoiled the moment for all of them.

"So… you did have something up you're sleeve after all, didn't you, Yuni?"

Byakuran had charged at Yuni, meaning to kill her.

_**But something stood in his way…**_

Naomi stretched out her hands in front of her mother, protecting her.

Time seemed to freeze for a second.

"Don't kill mother… please Byakuran-sama…"

Byakuran froze at the sound of Naomi's voice. She hadn't used the suffix '-sama' when addressing him in a long time.

Slowly, he lowered his fist which was meant to strike Yuni.

"Naomi…why must this happen? Why did you become one of them? When you loved me…it was all an act, wasn't it!"

Byakuran had calmed down but talking about this made him angry and he raised his fist to strike Naomi.

"An act, huh? Strike if you wish…" Naomi muttered.

Byakuran's eyes opened wide upon hearing Naomi say these words. Then he used his fist to strike.

_**But something caught his hand, restricting it from moving…**_

Byakuran turned. It was Yuni that was holding on to Byakuran's hand.

"You and her were lovers once, right? The least that you could do is to hear her out first…"

Byakuran frowned and shook his hand free from Yuni's grasp sending her flying backwards.

_MOTHER!_

Naomi made a move to help her mother.

Byakuran scoffed. "Fine… say what you were going to say. I'll listen to you…for now."

Naomi's eyes opened wide. Grasping his arm, she leaned close to him and whispered.

"It was wrong…to play on people's feelings. But I truly did love you. It wasn't easy. But when you found out that I was a spy…I had no choice but to flee…you made my decision for me…"

Slowly, Naomi tilted Byakuran's head back and kissed him. Gently at first, then more greedily. She longed for him. Her heart pined for him despite all that had happened between them.

Nothing at first…then…

Fierceness…Byakuran was kissing her back. They both kissed hungrily for a long time for couples who have been separated tend to do so. Finally the kiss broke and Byakuran held Naomi in his arms.

He breathed in her hair.

"My little one…how long has it been since we did that? I…I love you so much!"

Droplets of water were falling on Naomi's face. Looking up, thinking it was rain, she realized that it was not so but it was the tears running down Byakuran's cheek that was falling on her face.

Smiling up to him, tears also falling down her own cheeks, she took his hand and held it tightly. Byakuran squeezed it tightly, not wanting to ever let go.

"Byakuran-san…I must tell you this. It is almost possible for you two to love in this era where you have caused so much damage. Perhaps…it would be better for the two of you to have met in the past."

Yuni had appeared beside them and took Byakuran's other hand.

"Mother…maybe that is so but what is past is what is past. We can't do anything about it…" Naomi replied, gazing at Byakuran.

Byakuran nodded in agreement.

_**But Yuni just smiled…**_

"My child…it is not yet impossible. I can send you there to meet the past Byakuran but you will have to start all over again. The past him won't know anything about you…"

Yuni said softly as she took Naomi's hand.

"But mother…" Naomi started protesting but stopped when a voice cut her off.

"Go…"

She gasped and looked at Byakuran. He smiled.

"Go…I will meet you in the past and we shall be together. Yuni is right about this. It is impossible for us to ever love in this time and era…"

Naomi looked at Byakuran for a second as fresh tears spilled out of her eyes. She hugged him tightly.

Byakuran smiled and returned her embrace.

Naomi then embraced everyone…from Gamma all the way to Tsuna and Mukuro. Then she stared at Yuni.

"What now…mother?"

Yuni smiled as she bent down and placed her hand on the floor. A swirling mist emerged from it. She hugged Naomi one last time before stepping back.

"Sayonara, goodbye. I believe that we will meet again someday…my child…"

Eeryone waved as the swirling mist enveloped Naomi and slowly disappeared.

Byakuran smiled a sweet smile as he waved his goodbye…or was it to be called welcome?

* * *

_**Waves…the sound of waves lapping along the beach…**_

_What is this sound? _

Naomi opened her eyes and found herself on a beach. It was deserted but then she heard a voice from behind her.

"Who are you, little girl? Are you lost? Do you need help getting home?"

Naomi gasped when she heard the voice.

She spun around and found herself face to face with Byakuran. He was looking with concern at her, tilting his head in the adorable way that Naomi loved.

She gave a little yelp and hugged Byakuran tightly, not willing to let go.

Byakuran's body was tense…shocked by Naomi's reaction. Then a sort of understanding dawned on his face.

"I think I know you…" he said softly in to Naomi's ear.

Naomi gasped again and looked up at Byakuran's face.

"But…how?"

"I don't know but I have bits and pieces of memories about you. It just came back now. I don't understand it but I think that it is memories of me from the future. But one thing I am sure of…and that one thing is that…

…I love you"

Naomi gave a little gurgle of happiness. Slowly, Byakuran's hands found Naomi's face.

Lifting her face to his he pressed his lips against hers.

Gently, slowly, tenderly…he kissed her.

And she kissed him back.

-THE END-

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Well guys, looks like this is the end of my story is it sweet? Is it okay? I guess that it was a little cheesy at the end but I thought that it would be nice. Please comment…please! I hop you enjoyed it! I'm writing another story about Hibari but I don't think that I will post it anytime soon! Well, I hope that you enjoyed this story! If you did, be sure to check out my other stories that I wrote although I still think tat this is the best. Thanks for everything guys! I'm so happy!


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